fresh design – Jessica Schindhelm Design

(photo credit: http://fanthefiremagazine.com/art/jared-lim-finds-amazing-patterns-from-life-in-the-city/)

We all have had a lot of time to think these days—myself in particular. Both my kids are [THANK GOD] in schools that support safe, in-person learning, and my husband is an essential employee, so I am left to my devices each day to do my job: be creative. One would think that with all this time on my hands and no distractions I would be whipping out Mona Lisa quality creations by the dozens. But, sadly, that is not the case. Which begs the question: Why is creativity harder now when I finally have time to focus?

I’ve been struggling with this conundrum since March when the great WFH experiment began. Recently, I read this article by Martin Bihl, executive creative director at LevLane Advertising and editor of the-agency-review.com, which gives some insight as to why this isolated version of creativity feels so different and, frankly, harder than before we stopped physically commuting to an office.

What’s missing? According to Bihl: randomness. Much like procrastination can lead to inspiration, chance encounters with our world and those within it help stimulate creativity by eliciting unexpected reactions which then can trigger new ideas and “happy little accidents,” to quote Bob Ross. When we remove those random moments—taking the stairs because the elevator is being serviced, or choosing a new sandwich when our favorite salad is sold out, or noticing a coworker’s plant for the first time—we take away the interruption that fuels new thinking. We’re creatures of habit, argues Bihl, and without a jump start every now and again our creative batteries can peter out.

So what’s the solve? Find ways to reintroduce the random. I picked up a pencil and drew a portrait of my daughter with our dog from a photo I had taken a few weeks prior (see bel0w). I hadn’t done this for years. I made myself look up new recipes on the New York Times Cooking app rather than settle for the familiar after the first rush of quarantine cooking energy died out. I am listening to more podcasts than I should admit to and reading a lot. Verdict: It helps. These changes give my brain just the detour it needs to see in a different way, taste something new, listen to inspiration.

As much as routine is important to keep us sane and put up necessary boundaries for our time and energy, bringing in the random and pushing oneself to branch out and be a different you, as hard as it is sometimes, reminds our brains that there are a lot of roads we haven’t tried yet. Bihl suggests this for those of us with coworkers who are probably suffering the same loss:

“Maybe it’s scheduling those Zoom calls for longer, so you have time to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with what the call is about. Maybe it’s getting into the habit of just arbitrarily reaching out to team members to pick their brains on stuff, like you might if you were in the office together—not only for big, scheduled things.”
Martin Bihl

So, take what you will from this. We all have our ways of seeing our decline and finding a way to right our ship. Without the personal interactions with team members we had perhaps taken for granted (and sometimes avoided) and with each conversation today requiring an intentional effort, the work of creativity can be daunting and lonely. Take a chance, find your space where you can invite the unexpected and see what comes of it.

3 ways to stay creative during monatony

When you have the same scenery and routine day in and day out, which has only been accentuated during this pandemic, it’s hard to embrace a creative mindset. Many turn to social media to see what other creatives are up to, but that can only stimulate those creative juices so much. I, myself, subscribe to Communication Arts Daily which is a quick digest of design topics both academic- and archive-based which helps me keep up with trends and creative ideas. But, beyond that, what else is there? Let me tell you what works for me.

1 Challenge yourself with a new skill.

Fear is a great motivator. Once the kids were back at school, which I know is a luxury many working parents do not have, I had the house to myself to regroup and think about what was next for me. I had recently ended a three-year stint as a marketing director, moved to a new city, and did so during a pandemic. Not the best social opportunity. It was me, myself and my pets. Now what? I decided to do something I had never done but that applied to what I do. I joined LinkedIn Learning and started to take some classes in WordPress essentials and CSS. These are all applicable to what I do (user experience design), but with which I am very unfamiliar. I am not looking to become an expert in these processes, but my rationale: if I am familiar with the application, I can speak more intelligently with those who know it well and I will be more keen to max its capabilities in how I design.

2 Take advantage of the free stuff online.

Case in point: Adobe Max. Adobe dominates the creative application space and does a great job with it. They have the connections and resources to create an amazing online conference next week that has a ton of free application tutorials, inspirational case studies and speakers to remind you why we do this in the first place. To me, it’s professional self care. Not quite as luxurious as a beach vacation, but allowing yourself the time to do something that may not be outwardly “productive” will pay off in the long run by interrupting that stodgy routine and giving your creativity a hard reset.

3 Don’t you … forget about you.

I don’t know about you, but I need to feel confident with myself to take on new projects. I feel confident when I feel good about who I am and that I’m in control of those choices. There is not a heck of a lot of control during a pandemic, but what I can control is how I take care of my own wellbeing. This prioritization not only makes me a better creative, but a better parent, wife, and friend as well. So, how do I do this? I exercise 6-7 times per week. Don’t be too impressed. I don’t run marathons every day, but I have a program that is balanced, that pushes me, and most important, that allows me an hour to myself to improve JUST me, no one else. In that space, it’s literally all about me, and everyone needs that every now and again. And, as I’ve said in a post prior to this, I also embrace procrastination. I don’t view it as delaying a task, I see it as giving myself the time I need to fully bake those creative cookies. Plus, the bathroom gets cleaned—it’s a win-win.