That feeling when you’re sat at your desk –
or, like me, you’re in bed in your PJs – ready to work but lacking any creative inspiration, with your fingers
dancing on the keys like a faux piano player cum frustrated mime artist, is the
absolute worst. I get it, I understand it, and I want to help you.
For the times when you’re alone, looking at
a blurred, flared-nostriled reflection of yourself in a blank screen, wondering
why you ever got into the creative industries in the first place, here are my
top ways for finding inspiration.
1. Don’t be a doubting Thomas.
Self-doubt really is the devil’s work. Not
only does it make you think you look horrendous in those new jeans, but it also
stops you from doing anything productive for fear that you can’t do anything
anyway so why even try!
That’s not to say be arrogant. Actually,
yes, it is. Be arrogant. When it comes to your work, the more confidence in it
you have, the better, and the more you’ll push yourself to create. After all, why
would you want the world to not know about the genius within its midst?! Why
would you want to hide your talents away, never to be found? WHY?
On a side-note, even if you are just
pretending to yourself, make sure this is inner-confidence
rather than outward. After all, no one like a big-headed arse.
2. Don’t stagnate.
If you do the same things day-in-day out,
life can get boring pretty quickly. And when you’re bored, finding inspiration
and coming up with ideas is a total slog – and, when it gets to this stage,
reaching for a Ben & Jerry's quick fix is easier than actually doing anything. Bad news for your thighs
and your creative work.
So, do something new and put yourself out
there, even if it’s just taking a different route to the gym. Better yet,
challenge yourself everyday; talk to new people, read new blogs, sign up to interesting
online courses… you never know, it could lead to your next wonderful, jolty
spark of creative inspiration.
3. Refine your stream-of-consciousness.
Learn to hone that voice inside yourself
that is constantly rabbiting on. Well, yes, ignore the voice telling you to pay
rent, water Olly the Orchid, skype Mum and buy cleanser, but make sure that you
don’t brush over the other seemingly petty stuff threatening to clog up your
mind like a gross, hairy plughole. If you’re angered, annoyed or just plain distracted
by something small, write it down – this way you’ll get it off your mind quickly,
freeing up some space for deeper, more meaningful reflections.
Oh, and, clean your plugholes, you animal. And do pay your rent.
4. Write down ALL your ideas.
Even if it’s just a whiff of an idea, an intangible
mess of half-thought out garbage, just bloody write it down anyway. Even if it’s:
Slurpee volcano supermarket trauma. Now,
I have no idea what that means either, but at least now that it’s down in
writing I can work on finding inspiration from it. I’m not saying the idea will
lead anywhere good, but who knows until you’ve plucked it from your brain.
And another thing, those 5AM attacks of
creative wonder really are worth writing down right then and there. You’ll tell
yourself to remember it for the morning, but, like a dream, it’ll be gone before
as soon as you reclose your eyes.
5. Fear not.
You know that childlike voice inside your
head that says ‘DO IT! It’ll be fun, Why not?!’ but gets overpowered by the
adult-sounding voice that goes ‘Because people will laugh or judge me or think
I’m weird/full-blown crazy. Don’t do it!’…? In that scenario, you should follow
the child’s voice. Every time (except, maybe, if it’s to ski down an escalator in
flip-flops… don’t be an idiot).
When we think like children, if has been scientifically-proven
that we are better at divergent thinking, meaning we are more likely to overlook
common-held ideology and be more insightful and creative because of that.
Now, go, my child, go fulfil your creative inspiration.
