Avoid these 5 Creativity Killers

You’ve got deadlines coming out of your eyeballs and the clock seems to be ticking at an alarming rate. You know exactly what you have to do and how to do it. So, why are you reading Stranger Things fan theories and looking at photos of your dog? Creativity killers are always waiting in the wings, ready to strike and hijack all of your amazing ideas. Of course, it is difficult to magically be creative at all times of the day, but this is for those times where you’ve certainly got the capacity to be creative, but something just isn’t working. What should you avoid then?

Monotony

If you work in the same spot, day in and day out then it’s inevitable that sometimes your creativity will become stifled. Breaking your routine can help to stimulate that fabulous brain of yours, as new surroundings can give you some much-needed inspiration. Even getting up and changing your location within the exact same room can make a difference; maybe you were facing the wall before, well facing the window instead will be infinitely more interesting! Your brain will associate the work you’ve done with a new place too. Visiting a co-working space, typing away in a coffee shop, reading outside; they’re all ways of making your working day a bit different and shaking things up.

Same Ol’ People

We’re sure the people you work with are great, but having conversations with people that share the same ideas as you and similar perspectives can affect your creativity. You don’t have to say goodbye to them and ride off into the sunset, but discussing work with people you wouldn’t usually mix with or people outside of your office every now and then can trigger ideas. When you’re trying to communicate concepts or come up with solutions, speaking to people that don’t have complex knowledge of a subject can shift your perspective. You might be missing something because you’re tied up in the behind-the-scenes, so you can’t see something objectively. If you can’t explain an idea to a novice in simple terms then you need to work out how to make it clearer.

Boredom

Sometimes your creativity killing problem might be a bit bigger than moving your desk to a nicer spot. If you’re consistently finding yourself struggling to get creative or even excited about your projects then you might have to do some soul-searching. Enjoying what you do isn’t always possible, but if you can find a way to work on projects you’re genuinely interested in and passionate about then you’ll find it easier to get creative. When you get to a point where you’re still finding it impossible to get excited about your work and your creativity and wellbeing is suffering for it then finding something that you can shine could be a good idea.

Excuses

Avoiding doing creative work because of x, y and z (and a, b and c too) is just delaying something for no good reason. You need to improve your concept or come up with new ideas, so…just do it. Excuses for why you can’t start something will only slow you down and hinder your creativity in the long run. We know there’s a whole world of excuses out there that you can come up with, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to complete your task, that fact remains a constant. Unless something drastic has happened like a zombie apocalypse, we think that’s a legitimate excuse. Look for solutions instead of searching for excuses and your creativity will thank you for it when you come up with a bad-ass new idea.

Hiding Ideas

When you’re working on something new, it can be tempting to buckle down and get it done without interacting with another human being. It might mean that you get it finished faster, but if you don’t share your ideas or discuss them then you could miss out on a glaring mistake or something cool that you can improve your idea with. If it’s just you looking at your idea and thinking about it over and over again, you’re bound to overlook things. You’re too close to the project. Share your ideas with other creatives and they can help you out.

What are you waiting for? No, seriously, get on with that idea or project you’re working on. Obviously, reading this article is completely fine but now it’s time to get creative. Go on, scarper, go forth and create.