20 Tips to Help Get You Out of a Creative Slump
Device/Platform: iPhone / Android
Topics Covered: Creativity, Creative Slump
Intro
It happens to everyone. Some days you’re on fire with ideas and some days you can’t come up with one solid concept to run with. Creativity is a cycle of peaks and valleys and running into a creative slump every now and then is perfectly normal. The important thing is how long you let that creative slump take over though.
Lesson Focus
In today’s Darkroom Mobile Photography Tutorial we’ll be sharing 20 tips that will help revitalize your creative side and help push you out of that creative slump. Many of these tips can be utilized in every day but some may take a bit more focus. Either way, there are plenty here to help you get back on track with creating amazing work in no time.
20 Tips to Revitalize your Creativity
- Try to get create something at a time of day you normally wouldn’t. Maybe first thing in the morning. The change of scenery and environment can often spur new thoughts and creative direction.
- Stay in bed longer. Studies show that we are more creative when coming out of sleep. Dreams have also been identified as a way to sort things out. Take a nap and let things work themselves out.
- Daydream more. Daydreaming enhances creativity.
- Think of things like a child. Doing so enhances non-traditional thinking.
- Think in generic terms/language. Typically generic terms induce broader thinking where specific terms induce narrow thinking.
- Think outside. People tend to be more creative in larger and more open areas.
- Travel. Exposure yourself to new places and experiences as often as possible. Doing so tends to increase creativity and decrease routine thinking.
- Expose yourself to comedy and humor. Doing so can enhance your insight into creative thinking.
- Imagine you were asked to create something for a gallery in a foreign country. People are typically more creative when they feel their creative work will have global exposure.
- Expose yourself to new people and cultures. Doing so will open your eyes to new ways of thinking about both day-to-day and life long goals, events and values.
- Go grab a drink. You might be putting too much pressure on yourself. A cocktail or coffee might help loosen you up.
- Listen to music. Certain types of music have proven to be beneficial to everything from milk production to baby development in utero. The tempo of baroque music is similar to the tempo of brain waves that are associated with creative thinking.
- Write down what you want to create. Writing down ideas can make them more tangible and can help enhance creativity.
- Do a sudoku or a puzzle. They require a lot of concentration and will help clear your brain and make way for more creative thoughts.
- Deliberately create subpar ideas. You may be setting your expectations to high. Lower them and re-evaluate later. You can always raise them again once you get things in gear.
- Give up: Just for the moment, if you’re not getting anywhere don’t push it. Typically, this will only force yourself into more of a rut than you’re already in.
- Make a list of different themes that could turn into a series. Try working through some of your ideas you jot down.
- Try your hand at mimicry. Is there an artist that you especially admire? What do you admire about them? Identify that point and try and reproduce that aspect of their work. The exploration and trial and error involved in doing so will likely open up new ideas and thoughts.
- Do a Google image search for terms like “creative photography ideas” or “creative images” and just soak up the inspiration.
- Go to a local art gallery or museum. Get involved with creative groups and surround yourself with creative company. Even photo sharing websites can help satisfy this creative interaction.
- Adam Conner @derblutenkat
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