Creativity vs Productivity: How to Make Progress in Creative Work

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

People whose work is at least a little connected with creativity know perfectly well how difficult it can sometimes be to force yourself to work. Especially when there is no inspiration and your views on the result with the customer's option are opposite. And in general, the planets are not lined up, the deadlines are running out, and there is not a single sensible idea in my head. But there are people who persuaded their muses to work according to the established schedule;).

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Rule # 1. Set goals for yourself that you must achieve within a certain period of time (day, week, month). According to the requirements, the creative work is no different from the standard one - the work must be completed and handed over to the client on time. After all, you are not told exactly when and how much you work, but when the deadline is set, your brain subconsciously looks for various solutions if inspiration is sleeping. Even if the inspiration comes on the last night, you will still complete the building. Perhaps even better than having floating dates and expecting your muse. Be sure to set yourself certain tasks that need to be completed clearly on schedule. Especially when working on creative projects!

Rule # 2. Keep a notebook handy at all times. It all depends on what exactly you are doing. If your work involves illustration or design, it is best to have your little sketch pad at hand. You never know where you will see new ideas ?! It will be better if you can draw a small sketch right away. It works even if you have an ingenious scheme in your head - you can't dictate it to a dictaphone. A dictaphone is also a good and necessary thing. On it you can write down interesting ideas that come to mind anywhere! Later at work or at home, looking at seemingly unrelated passages, you can collect something new and very interesting.

Rule # 3. Structure. As strange as it may sound in relation to creative projects, but this rule goes hand in hand with the setting of end goals and deadlines. By drawing a clear outline of your work, you help yourself stay focused on the main idea. And this happens quite often during brainstorming, especially when a team of people is working. One gives out the main idea, the second picks it up and away we go! As a result, people get so carried away that the result is far from the original idea. For example, we started about mineral water and ended up with an idea for advertising baby diapers.

Rule # 4. Don't skip food! This applies not only to your health, but also to your productivity! Sometimes the work is so addictive that you are afraid to move, so as not to frighten off the surging inspiration. And going to the store for groceries or preparing something to eat is out of the question. Therefore, if you know that you have a long job ahead, make sure you have adequate food in advance. As a last resort, have at least a piece of dark chocolate and green tea on hand!

Rule # 5. Structure your brainstorms. In order to use brainstorms more productively, try setting top-priority goals for yourself. For example, in these 20 minutes I have to come up with 5 ideas for articles for our client, or write 10 slogans per day on a given topic, etc.

Rule # 6. Become familiar with your work tools. Whether it's a hammer, pencil, or Adobe Illustrator. If you do not know thoroughly all the intricacies of working with your main tool, then you risk spending much more time on work and getting less outstanding results. By studying old and trying new tools for your work, you expand your capabilities and invest in your future.

From my personal experience, I can say that doing creative work is much more difficult than standard work when there is no inspiration, and many times easier and more enjoyable when you are bursting with ideas. Before, when I needed to draw something, I knew for sure that I would not be able to do it during the day. My time is night. So in the afternoon I could just go out for a walk in the park, taking a sketch pad with me, and catch ideas. Once you have decided on the best time to work for you, the second thing to do is find harmony with yourself and the client. Even if you think certain things are unacceptable for yourself, you must remember that your client is not you, and not your friends or loved ones. If he has set clear requirements (even if it looks or sounds absurd), you are obliged to do as ordered. Especially talented people manage to get out of the client's head what he himself cannot really formulate, and give it shape and color! The option “Well, I dreamed about one girl here and I want you to draw her, she is so… so… well, interesting” is quite real and not even uncommon. So as one man said in his prime: “Calm! Only calmness!"

And how do you force yourself to work when the deadlines are on fire, but there is still no inspiration ?! Do you have your own interesting life hacks and stories related to creative work?