It is so common for us to become isolated in the mundane day to day routines of work, eat, sleep, repeat. We form a cocoon around our little daily world which doesn’t span wider than your home, your commute and your office. That kind of cushy comfort corner is actually very bad for you. In order for you to stimulate your creativity and get fresh ideas, you have to break out of the so-called 9-5 cycle.
Watch what the industry is doing. Take part in discussion forums, listen to seminars and check out the major industry events in your city. There is a chance you might stumble across your next big idea just by taking a moment to step outside your everyday life. When you watch the latest product launches or chat to a fellow creative after a seminar, your mind is experiencing new impulses. Every time you do something for the first time, you send neurons through your brain tissue and build new pathways for thoughts to travel. The more pathways you explore, the greater usage of your mind you enable. On the flip side, if you remain trodding on a single route every day, you will notice the tracks getting deeper and deeper with time. The longer you stay on track, the harder it becomes to shift direction. Even if you choose to remain in the same company over a number of years, it is crucial for your intellectual and creative mind to stay in touch with the world.
I used to see so many fellow colleagues who used to be really talented creatives become shadows of their former selves. One guy I was working with had been in our company for 10 years. He was a creative lead on the production team and had many honourable highlights in his career. On the digital team there came up an opportunity for a lead digital video producer to join the rocketship to the future. I was heading up the designers in the same digital department and saw it as a great opportunity to form an alliance and get a producer over to our side. He became my peer and we began collaborating on a number of projects. In the beginning things went well and we were experimenting with new ideas by putting our years of experience together. I had a skilled developer on my team and together with the producer they made a really cool video banner which took the company by storm. In the years that followed, I noticed how the producer felt a sense of entitlement and refused to let go of some of his old beliefs. He tried a few things out, but didn’t quite get the result he wanted and slowly I could see his frustration grow. There was a force pushing him to get out of his old tracks, but he didn’t have the strength or courage to make the shift. His complaints of the video content became so frequent and intense, that people avoided inviting him to the editing suite. It all ended with him fighting for a seat in his former team as a senior, which he eventually conquered. He went from the unknown sea of freedom back to the banal known. Have to give him kudos for trying, but not respect for being stubborn.
The umbilical cord of the comfort zone stretched far enough for him to play, but brought him back to the womb of his career. The man didn’t have it in him to venture out and dwindled professionally in the years to come. When I announced that I was moving onto greener pastures, I could see the sadness in his eyes knowing that day would never come for him. It’s almost like he’d given up on himself. My cure for this is not to get too ingrained in a single formula which you can repeat for decades to get undistinguished results. I always try to switch things up in new ways. If you are having weekly team meetings and there’s a really hot summer day, print out your papers and have the meeting outside on the grass. It gives both you and the team a literal and metaphorical breath of fresh air to change your environment. Just by putting your feet on the soil, you are connecting to the positive energy of the planet and literally staying in touch with the World.
Stay in touch also on a professional level, meaning you have to keep your ear to the ground. Subscribe to leading industry company blogs and publishings so you have a regular stream of collective creative thoughts coming to your inbox. Unfollow all the influencers and fashionistas and start following legendary designers and new upcoming talents in the art, photography, fashion and lettering space to stimulate your mind with new ideas. Follow galleries and museums for curated shows and notifications on upcoming exhibitions. Browse through portfolio projects on leading creative websites and explore the newest trends amongst your fellow creative comrades. The young talents are alwaying coming up with some amazing work which breaks the common convention and former traditional patterns. When you read articles and browse these sites, you expose your eyes to what’s going on in the world. You open your mind and soak in all the creative thoughts flying around in the creative consciousness of the All.
Frank Zappa famously said: “A mind is like a parachute, it only works if it’s open.”
Keep your mind open and let new ideas flow in. Hear out your junior creative explain their ideas and try to see how you can bring it to life. Continue to immerse yourself in new material, both visual and written to keep your creative juices flowing. Keep your mind open and stay in touch with the world.
