Have you ever experienced
writer’s block?
What about manager’s block,
marketer’s block, or <insert your
profession here>’s block?
For me, a block is when I either
can’t get started on something, repeatedly do the same thing over again, or lose
track of what I should do next.
It usually occurs when I’m
over-thinking, under-thinking, or generally uninspired.
Working from home (and blogging)
has taught me a few strategies to break myself out of a rut.
- Call someone. While I love speaking with just about anyone, I have several virtual colleagues that really get the blood flowing to my brain.
- Stream of conscious. Sometimes I try to refine my thoughts too early in the creative process and get stuck. When that happens, I’ve found that just getting my ideas on paper (or in Word), no matter how unorganized or random they may be, can get me moving along a productive path.
- Change scenery. Instead of working at my desk I work in a different room or go someplace public (with wifi, of course!). Or, I stop working and go take a walk (often with my camera).
- Take a deep breath and look around. I try to find humor, excellence, or controversy in something that’s right in front of me!
- Exercise.
When all else fails, I completely
turn off. I pick a time when I’ll shut
down my computer and my brain for the day, no matter what I’ve accomplished,
and plan to start fresh in the morning.
While none of these ideas
are rocket science, they seem to work for me.
What works for you?
I’m always interested in
expanding my repertoire!
Drew –
The slow cook idea is great (since I already do have both a Creative Whack Pack and a Ball of Whacks!).
I can’t tell you how many blog posts I now have at various levels of completion. I go through them from time to time, pick them up, play with them, and they put them down for a little longer. It’s great to view your own work from another angle – and the passage of time really allows that.
It also helps with client work (when you have the time) to put it down and come back to it later.
Thanks for coming by!
Ann
Ann,
I shoudl have known Valeria would have some excellent answers. I am going to start that scrapbook idea today!
I do some of the same things you do. Change location is a big one for me. If I can spend some time outside…on a walk or just sitting in a park, breathing some fresh air — that often wakes up my brain.
I use music as well — I crank up the volume and just move.
If you don’t have a Creative Whack Pack, (created by Roger von Oech) you should get one. That always gets me back on track. (www.creativethink.com)
And my best way, but often I don’t have the luxury — is to let the ideas slow cook. If I am working on a project, I begin to map it out in my head and then just leave it there for a few days. Odd, random thoughts bubble to my consciousness as I am going about my day and when I do finally sit down to write it — it’s almost all there.
Thanks for asking the question.
Drew
Great ideas, Valeria, thanks.
I can picture you reading 3 books at a time!
(that think with your hands link is pretty neat, too!)
I have a scrapbook filled with images (photographs I’ve taken cut in different ways, for example), poems and quotes in many languages. When I want inspiration, I work on that.
Writing notes or a letter to a friend in longhand also help.
Reading two to three books at a time allows me to mix and match ideas more readily. I recommend trying the optimal number of books that works for you. I cannot do more than 3 at a time.
Drawing, painting and crating something with your hands also work. It fires those other areas of the brain and soon meaning shows up. My friend who used Lego Serious Play calls this ‘thinking with your hands’ — http://www.thinkwithyourhands.com/
Listening to classic music. A while back Fast Company collected many different soundtracks to success here http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/87/open_soundtrack.html