Thoughts from the Dirty City

I think a Ninja stole my creative mojo this morning while I wasn’t looking. Some times I wake up and I can feel the creativity coursing through me, mostly I just hit snooze and wonder how anyone is suppose to feel “artsy” before the sun comes up. Some days are worse than others, days like today for example. I have been rearranging the same four images for almost two hours trying to make something happen. Well maybe I am just killing time, trying to LOOK busy waiting for some motivation (inspiration) to find me. I would never actually admit to the latter.

There are lots of tips out there for reclaiming your creative steam. There are countless sites, forums and blogs devoted to this subject, proving that I am not alone in my artistic malaise. I have to admit it is rare that any of these sites actually help do any thing more than kill time for me. So I wonder if these little tips are helping other designers out there. According to the forums they are life savers. To me, that insipid complementing is even more frustrating than the initial lack of creative spark.

I have been giving this a lot of thought today, considering the gusto I have for my current projects. I have come to realize a few truths about me and my work habits. These aren’t things that will inspire creativity. This is just a list of things I have noticed about my work habits, and some of my favorite ways to pass time on the odd days that I can’t find my creative footing. My top ten in no certain order:

1. If I didn’t get enough sleep I am doomed. Boredom, frustration and fatigue are a lethal cocktail. So, the best thing is to learn to sleep with your eyes open. Just kidding, sleeping on the job would be totally irresponsible.

2. Drink lots and lots of water, it is super healthy and if nothing else it gives me an excuse to get away from my desk more often and usually in a hurry.

3. If it is the first week of actual spring, especially in Ohio (the week that the sun comes out for the first time in almost 5 months and it is warm enough to be outside longer than the walk from your car to the door) I have very low expectations. Spring fever is a real illness that can only be cured with many visits to the local metro park.

4. Working in intervals helps, especially in the case of spring fever. This is one of the very few things I miss about being a smoker. It gave me an excuse to go outside several times a day. Being a non-smoker my employers frown on me leaving the building for “stare at the sky and look for pictures in the clouds” breaks. But, this doesn’t stop me from trying. (I would like to add, I am still glad I quit smoking. One of the best things I ever did for myself) And when all else fails drink some more water

5. Good music is always a nice distraction. Even better if you are not in the groove is good talk radio or audiobooks piped through headphones. If nothing else you can look extremely focused whilst accomplishing nothing.

6. Call off for the day, be it sick time or vacation time. Just take a day and play. As children we had summer vacation, is one day of slack so much to ask for? Sometimes a well needed vacation day can clear up all the clutter that keeps me from seeing anything fresh on my screen.

7. I keep a journal and a blog. Sometimes I need to do some 13 year old girl type of venting, this is what my journal is for. It isn’t something I am particularly proud of, but I figure better on paper than swimming around my head! Usually this isn’t the case and I blog about whatever topic has been on my mind most that day. Either way if I focus on the written word for a while it can make getting back to the visual world of graphic design a welcome change.

8. I subscribe to lots of news and blog feeds. Somehow just knowing they are there to read at will helps keep me from getting desperately bored.

9. Financial tracking, I hate it more than anything, but those moments at work that I know I am not going to be productive make for the perfect time to balance check books, savings accounts and verify all bills have been paid in full and on time. It is something that I know I would only spend about half as much time on if I weren’t doing it as a distraction so this really kills two birds with one stone. Plus I can spread it out over the day or even a few days.

10. Surf the net. This one is always listed, and while it doesn’t really help me be more creative, Google is a sure fire way to kill some time. It is obvious, but it works. Occasionally you might even run into something inspiring, just don’t count on it.

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