Get Your Creative Juices Flowing.
As a long-time copywriter, I'm 100% sure that I share a common experience with many of my creative colleagues. The not-so-scientific name of this unwelcomed phenomenon is what we refer to as writer's block or creative block. While this can happen at any time, it usually rears its ugly head when deadlines are the tightest and stakes are the highest. Unfortunately, this condition doesn't discriminate and may transcend the walls (or cubes) of advertising agencies, having far-reaching consequences for many other industries, including musicians, painters, artists and yes, many of our clients.
So what do you do when this happens? Here are some tips that have proved helpful throughout the years.
Get Up It's tough to be inspired by four walls or a desk cluttered with papers, candy wrappers, empty coffee cups and a set of pens you "borrowed" from your local bank. So unless your office has a strict "stay at your desk" policy, get up, walk around, go outside for some fresh air, just change up your atmosphere. You'd be surprised how new surroundings can change your whole perspective and inspire you in ways you never thought possible.
Brainstorm You would think that focus and concentration are best when faced with the pressure of having to come up with ideas. While that may work for some, many people feed off of the ideas of others. Have a brainstorming session and just let everyone throw out their thoughts. Remember, there are no bad ideas. Chances are, one person's idea will build upon someone else's and so on. And before you know it, you'll have the perfect solution. And, everyone will feel like they contributed so they'll be vested in its success.
Sleep on It Whether you think you have a million great ideas or you're struggling to come up with just one, it's amazing how some Zzzz's can help you see things more clearly. Many times, ideas we thought were great, fall flat after a good night's sleep or conversely, bad ideas can be used to inspire something great the next day. If you've hit a wall, get a good night's sleep and start again the next day. In fact, research shows that your mind is the most creative when you first wake up, so get an early start.
Keep a Pad By Your Bed How many times have you come up with a killer idea when you're in bed and you swear you'll remember it the next morning? No matter how much you think you won't forget the idea, inevitably, most of us do. Here's one piece of advice, whether it's a traditional pad or an iPad, keep something by your bed so that you can record these ideas, otherwise, they may be gone forever.
Revisit Old Ideas Maybe you had a great idea but it just didn't work for the project at hand. Don't throw it away, file it. Keep a digital or paper folder of all your old ideas, you never know when they may come in handy. You know what they say, "One project's trash is another project's treasure." Okay, so I took a little creative liberty with that one.
Have more tips? Please share.