When your job is all about bright ideas, what do you do when you are feel a bit burnt out?
In the creative industry, it’s so important to keep our mind fit and healthy. When deadlines are looming or there’s an important client to impress it can be hard to get your head in gear. Experienced colleagues and mentors can be a vital source of knowledge but some of the most creative minds I know are kids. Their imaginations are untainted, and their curiosity is boundless.
Like many of us creatives they can sometimes be demanding, unreasonable and over-dramatic but toddlers can also teach us so much about the creative process. I’m sure if my two-year-old could talk in more than 5 word sentences his advice would be something like this…
1. Play outside
How often do ideas come to you when you are walking to the train station or going for a run? Physical activity is so good at helping the mind problem solve or process ideas. Getting out in nature can inspire and invigorate your creativity. Fresh air can do wonders for mind fog and keeps the rest of your body in good shape too.
2. Get distracted
Although it seems counterintuitive, stepping away from a project and doing something completely different can help your creative process. It can be as quick as making a cup of tea, looking out the window or filling in a timesheet (which would also make your Producers very happy! Obviously too much time getting distracted may meet with less approval but there is always a balance. When you feel a bit lost in a process, a little moment away can make all the difference.
3. Create stuff for no reason
It might look like a messy and strange. You might not win any awards but finding an artistic output outside your normal day job can inspire new ideas inside the workplace.
Create terrible art, make some awful music, bake a disastrous cake. Whatever the outcome, a creative outlet outside of the limitations of a client brief gives you the freedom to be braver and bolder when it comes to your work.
4. Ask loads of questions
Children aren’t ashamed to ask questions. In fact, they never stop. As adults we can get a bit out of practice when it comes to seeking advice or different perspectives. However, it is often the advice or experiences of others which can shape and refine our ideas for the better. Collaboration and support can do wonders for our creativity.
5. Sleep like a baby
Unfortunately, my youngest son is a terrible sleeper, so I take inspiration from own childhood. I was an absolute pro at sleeping. Smashed it out the park. Fresh eyes on a brief or edit after a decent sleep is so vital. It is so much easier to spot mistakes or come up with solutions when the mind has had some downtime.
Children are fearless when it comes to their creativity. They haven’t learnt to feel embarrassed of their ideas and every day is a new adventure for them.
If we can incorporate even a tiny bit of this childlike creativity into our work it could help keep our ideas fresh, our minds sharp and our energy levels epic!
We learnt first-hand how creative young minds can be when we worked alongside some amazing young people on a powerful short film.
The collaboration can be seen here
