People in creative professions are under constant pressure to come up with cool stuff. When you’re developing a new project, your main goal is to impress with uniqueness. From time to time, that’s easy. You get an idea, you get into a project, and you’re out in no time. Your creativity flows effortlessly through the process and the results are great.
Things are not always that easy, though.
Sometimes you get hyper-creative and you don’t know when to stop. If you check out the website of Bolden – a strategic design and development studio, you’ll see what I mean. Now; this is not necessarily a bad design. It looks creative and cool. However, it’s a bit too creative in a way that makes it difficult for the user to understand the message.
Getting hyper-creative is not the only way for creativity to go wrong. The block is a whole other issue. You know you have to come up with great stuff, but you’re stuck halfway and you cannot push yourself forwards. Every creative person comes to such a stage, at one point or another.
How do you overcome these creativity issues? The first step is recognition. When you realize you have a problem, you can find a solution. We’ll list 5 signs you should watch for! They show that creativity went wrong for you this time.
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Your Brain Battles Over Multiple Alternatives
When you’re in a creative flow, it’s hard to be aware of all thoughts that are going through your mind. Your intelligence is going crazy. You’re trying to find reason in all kinds of alternatives, and you’re juggling between various designs, not knowing what road to take.
This is a dangerous situation that could easily take your creativity in the wrong direction. If you don’t recognize this point, you’ll probably end up with an overly complex design that involves too many elements, but is practically useless.
The solution?
Rely on your instincts! They tell you that you have to finish the project ASAP. They also tell you that the design has to be clean. Listen to them! It’s time combine your reason with your instincts and analyze each idea from a critical point of view. Then, go through the stage of elimination. Preserve only the best ideas and abandon all others. That’s necessary!
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You’re Looking for Distractions
You try to convince yourself that you’re committed to the project. You already started and you have some things going on. However, you cannot stay working on it for too long before you start looking for distractions. Facebook, Instagram, other projects, house chores… you name it.
This is a sign of an emerging creativity block. If you don’t act on time, it might lead you to missed deadlines or a forced design for the sake of completing the project.
When you catch yourself falling for distractions, it’s time for an emergency strategy. Mark the deadline in your calendar and plan the process in all its stages. Plan when you’ll commit yourself to all other tasks without endangering the completion of the one that has priority.
As for the online distractions, block them! If you don’t need social media, Bored Panda, and other distracting websites for this project, use StayFocusd to stay focused.
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You’re In the Creativity Bubble
You feel great when you’re in the company with other creatives, don’t you? They inspire you. They get your ideas, so you feel free to get as creative as possible to impress them. All creatives create bubbles for themselves. We attend creative conferences, and we connect with creative people online. When I worked for Assignment Masters, the writers, marketing experts, and graphic designers from the company were the only people I hanged out with.
The bubble is not a good sign. Do you know why? – Because it isolates you from your audience. This attitude will push you towards creating designs that the average audience does not understand.
The solution is simple: revive the connection with the real world. Get informed on the latest trends and styles in your niche, and keep the contact with your audience alive through social media.
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You Work on Projects You Don’t Care About
Creativity can go really wrong when you believe you can do everything. You haven’t had any trouble completing projects before, so you decide to accept one although you know nothing about its point. You don’t care about the cause and you don’t care about the results. You just care about getting things done, and you push yourself through the creative process.
Stop right there!
You’ll only create something beautiful when you care about the project. Have you seen Edgar Degas’ ballerina paintings? They came out magnificent only because Degas was obsessed with ballet and spent years observing the dancers.
It’s a bit more complex for today’s creatives to do what they love since they get hired. You can, however, choose the projects you complete. Focus on the ones that awaken your interest and you’ll liberate the path for your creative flow.
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You Lack Structure
When you think of creative work, you imagine a crazy artist with a messy hair, torn clothes, lack of food, and utter obsession to their work. They work when they feel the creative urge, and they indulge in vices while waiting for the urge. That’s a cliché. It might work for some people, but it’s undermining for most.
If you find yourself in a chaos, thinking that creativity would emerge from it, you got everything wrong.
If you’re too structured, you leave no flexibility for creativity. If you’re too chaotic, you cannot find a way out of the mess. A creative project combines the elements of order and chaos in a perfect way. Jazz musicians, for example, are flexible enough for improvisation, but they still dedicate themselves to constant practice. They know music theory and they use it to give direction to their freedom. That’s exactly what creatives from all types should do!
Find your perfect combination of order and chaos! Develop a schedule that pushes you to work every day, but don’t become a slave to that frame. Allow your distinctive voice to come through and respect your need for small doses of chaos now and then.
When It Goes Wrong, Don’t Despair!
When you’re in a creative profession, you can expect for things to go wrong from time to time. That’s because a lot of individuality is involved in the process of creation, and the judgment is always subjective. People might not like what you adore.
Still, it’s important to understand the problem and recognize the signs of creativity going wrong. When you acknowledge the signs, it will be easy for you to take measures against them. From there on, it’s your responsibility to get back on track!