10 ways to stay creative when you work as a creative.
We are lucky enough to live in a time where creativity is being more and more valued. As technology aids us with admin roles, processes and systems, utilising design thinking and creative problem solving sets human kind apart from machine. It’s easy to forget sometimes we aren’t machines and sometimes our creative juices need a top up – if only that was on our local café menu. We’ve put together 10 ways to stay creative when that pinterest scroll just isn’t cutting it.
1. Get off the screen and into print. The endless scroll can often create a blur of content and as most of us work on a screen all day, our focus and eyes need a break. Invest in a collection of books and magazines that truly make you stop and creatively digest. Some of our favorite are magazines are; Oak Magazine, Cereal, Kinfolk and Jane Magazine. We also like to throw in a trashy gossip mag there to really give the brain a resting point and keep up with Megan and Harrys latest.
2. Put on a turtle neck and head to a local gallery. As a monthly top up we love to spend a morning at nearby galleries. Personally we like the old masters; Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Gaughan as they all have their own approach to visual storytelling. We like to put our ‘design theory’ hat on here and see how each piece is using balance, hierarchy, color and alignment. If you haven’t been to the State Library, Brisbane to level 3 – the Asian Design Pacific section the resources there are crème to la creme. Feel like a kid at Christmas and explore the stacks of books on design, architecture, fashion, food, sustainability, colour, textiles, poetry – this list goes on.
3. Bring it to a round table. When working in a small team or solo it can be so easy to stew on the daily and forget the big picture. We are always so inspired after a morning session with our local mastermind group. Here we talk about our struggles, goals and what is getting our gears going. The best part is we are all in different industries so have unique approaches to solving the same problem. Plus a great excuse for multiple coffees and building relationships that matter. Not part of a mastermind? Reach out to fellow creatives and start your own or get in touch with Leanne from The Founders Team here.
4. Guilt free time just to collect inspiration. When we are hard in the grind do we ever priorities time just to gather inspiration? or do we just demand it on the spot when we need it most, hey it’s not Uber eats here people. We like to set a few hours (guilt free) each week to stop the emails, let the xero reconciling build up and just absorb. We love diving deep into Behance, Shillington College Blog has a great list of blog posts (Inc. best design blogs) and we just discovered the blog on We-Transfer which is also killer.
5. Mate, just go outside. It might sound a little naff but sometimes the only cure is getting back in touch with nature (insert prayer ‘Umm’ sound here.) There is nothing like finding some fresh type from a garage sale poster or a colour palette from a Greek neighbours front garden (you know the kind.)
6. Art for arts-sake. Most of the time we got into this industry because we love the craft then somewhere along the journey it turned into a ‘must have’ rather than a ‘lust have.’ Take the time out to invest in your creativity through play and experimentation. Go to a ceramics workshop, a wine and painting class or hit up a life drawing class. Even if your work looks like a 6 years old did it, no one is sending you Friday 5pm emails with feedback on it.
7. Go far and wide, or just next door. As much as going back to NYC or heading to Sri-Lanka is always the DREAM, sometimes local travel can have the same result. Get off at a different train station or take a drive to a close suburb you’ve never been too. Think back how was this place 100 years ago, who lives here, what do they enjoy and play a game of what would my life look like if I lived here. Even if it’s terrible it will make a great story and be sure to get the juices going.
8. Change your environment. Take your laptop and head to a local café, great way to integrate more cake into your daily needs but also people watching and fresh sounds and smells reinvigorates the brain. Alternatively sometimes just spreading it all out on a table or sitting on the floor can change the view (literally) of a project.
9. Shopping – and we’re not talking about scrolling through the Iconics latest sale. Here it’s about browsing through places of true wonder. We like the Paddington Antique centers and local Chinese Grocers. Places with hundreds of knick-knacks, packed to the brim just waiting for someone to discover and bring life to.
10. Find inspiration in the simple things, every day. It doesn’t need to be hours from your day. Stop and smell the roses, ask your colleagues what they are working on and be engaged with the world around you. It’s brimming with solid gold and sometimes we just have to look up.