Next Time You Get Stuck, Do These Three Things
Being a designer isn’t always the rainbows and rivers of creativity that it seems from the outside looking in. It actually takes a lot of energy to take a unique approach to each project. What many people think is “easy to create a logo” or “easy to build a [simple] website” sometimes isn’t rudimentary at all. And when those days come we can get what I like to call designer’s block; where no matter how hard we try it is really hard to conceptualize a new creative thought. Here are some quick things you can do to help break that block.
Take a Walk or Hit The Gym
Stepping away from coding or designing a new logo can actually be pretty healthy. I’ll step away for a long walk, sometimes up to two miles just to really get my head clear. Listening to a podcast or music helps even better while taking that walk. Working out in a gym can also help and relieve a little bit of stress at the same time.
Take a Long Shower
I can’t tell you how many good ideas I come up with in shower or the loo. I used to think that maybe it had something with me being a Pisces but after several impromptu conversations with colleagues I find it’s not just me. Maybe it’s the running water that promotes a zen-like or calming environment, even if it is temporal.
Take a 30K View Look Down
When working on routine projects and something goes wrong along the way, we’re sometimes confused. Why would something break or go wrong, it never does at this point of the project. It doesn’t help that we can get tunnel vision and may have missed a step or forgot to confirm some details that are now vital.
- Retrace your progress from the absolute beginning and review each step as if you were someone else checking someone else’s work
- Perform an audit. Are you sure you have all the pertinent details necessary for your project?
- Does someone else (with a specific expertise) need to finish this work?
So what are some things that you do to refresh your mind when you get stuck working on a project? Send me a Tweet me and let me know or comment below.
Photo Credit: Jordan Whitfield
