Creative Habits

Photo by Pamdora?s Box

?I?m just not feeling very creative today.?

As a creative person, having an ?off? day creatively is going to happen, whether because stress or pressure or even the occasional migraine. It is especially difficult to mumble these words when a deadline is looming and your canvas is as blank as the day you created it. This sets in a panic that will only further hinder those creative juices. (Eww!)

But there ARE things we can do to help prevent (or, at least, lower) these creative blocks.

Answer: Creative HABITS!

Now, you?re probably thinking one of two things. Either ?I already read all the creative mags/blogs/tweets. I?ve got my creative bases covered!? ?OR- ?What?s a creative habit?? If you?re subscribing to PRINT and HOW, reading smashingmagazine.com or click on any interesting links in your Twitter feed, you?ve probably found an article that gets your creative wheels turning. Ideas pop into your head for a random logo or website design. A new font spurs a whole list of ideas for how it can be used. Suddenly you feel a little more ALIVE!

But this is only where it starts. You need to DO SOMETHING with this sudden creative energy.

It doesn?t have to take long. Draw up some quick sketches for those logos. Download that font and play around with some creative ideas. Heck, even create a quick layout for a new website. Get your ideas out of your brain and onto a piece of paper or your computer. This pushes your creative process from short and sporadic to actual creation of a design. The act of actually DOING takes your thought process to the next level.

The more times you take these random bursts of ideas and create something concrete, the easier it will be to ?be creative? when deadlines are looming and clients are calling. The habit has been formed. Just remember, the ?creative brain? is like any other muscle?the more you work it, the more easily it performs. So go out there and WORK IT!

? Post written by Cristy Wiza.