I started Creative Nowhere Land because I was in a rut! Well, more of a creative black hole to be much more melodramatic about the whole thing! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's felt like this. It can happen to every creative from time to time where you just feel a little stuck for ideas!

Now, if you’re feeling a little like that, and are in need of some tips and tricks to help you stay creative, then you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to share with you ‘7 Ways to Stay Creative’. These 7 ideas come from a longer list of ‘25 Ways to Stay Creative’ that I'm sharing as a free downloadable poster that anyone can use. So, be sure to read to the end to find out how to get your free copy!

1. TURN OFF YOUR PHONE.

But, it’s not just phones! This is really about getting rid of any distractions! Let’s face it though, it’s so easy to get distracted by the buzz of our phones nowadays. It’s everything in one place! Messages, emails, social media and so much more. These clever little technological rectangles, that we all carry around with us, have become integral to our very existence it seems. Try switching off your phone, your computer, your TV etc! Whatever your distraction, turn it off! It’s a simple trick but by giving yourself some time without your phone (insert distraction of choice here), allows you to focus and to be with your own thoughts and ideas. This is where your creativity lies!

2. BRAINSTORM.

So, we’ve got rid of the distractions and we’re sitting with our own thoughts and ideas. Now what? Well, we’ve got to get them out and start to process through them.

This is where Brainstorming or Mind Mapping comes in. I’m sure I don’t need to explain the process of this technique but, if there are any of you reading this that have no idea what I’m talking about then a simple Google search should clear it up pretty quickly.

The power of brainstorming is to accumulate a mass of ideas — no matter how crazy! So, grab a blank piece of paper and a pen and go wild. How you do it is up to you! It’s about getting your ideas down on paper and seeing what other ideas come from them.

3. CARRY A NOTEBOOK.

It sounds like an obvious one but we all know that inspiration and ideas can come to us at any moment throughout our day. I wonder how many great ideas have been forgotten or lost in the ether of life because they weren’t written down. It’s important to have somewhere where you can note those ideas when they spring into your head so you don’t forget them.

It’s entirely up to you how you do it. Some people use a physical notebook or journal. While some might prefer some sort of notes app on their phone. I do a mixture of both. I have a small notebook that I try my best to carry with me but, I also use the Notes app on my iPhone all the time. These days we always seem to have our phones on us pretty much 24/7, unless of course, you’ve turned it off as per suggestion number 1. With your phone, you can take notes as text or voice notes quickly as well as add photos, screenshots and links to anything that catches your eye that you might want to save for later.

You have to find what works for you personally, but try and get into the habit of making notes when you have a brain wave or an idea. You can always revisit and review them later that way and, you never know what they might inspire.

4. EXPERIMENT.

There's so much to be said for experimenting. Especially as a creative. When you experiment you can sometimes stumble upon something that you would never have expected or intended. A new way of doing something within your creativity or a different medium to work in perhaps?

Experimenting can release us from a lot of seriousness and demands of perfection. We’re just playing with ideas. The outcome of experimentation is knowledge, and failure is just as valuable as success. This leads me nicely to my next point…

5. MAKE MISTAKES.

If you’re anything like me, then you want everything you create to be perfect. But when you experiment with new ideas and new processes within your creativity, invariably it won’t always go to plan. Embrace it! Making mistakes is part of the creative process and, maybe, that mistake might give you a new idea or direction to take a current or future project. There are no rules in art and creativity so, in theory, no mistakes.

If you can embrace the mistakes and learn from them, and move forward, that’s how we all grow as humans and not just creatives.

6. LET GO OF YOUR FEAR.

Are you scared of sharing or creating the thing that you really want to? And, if so why? Most of the time it’s our egos. What will other people think of the ‘thing’ we’re doing or creating. Will people think it’s stupid or mad if you’re pursuing something creative or doing something out of your comfort zone? Maybe! But you know what they say, ‘your comfort zone will kill you!’, and you can’t please everyone but, you can please yourself first. So make the work you want to make! Leave your ego at the door and create for yourself first and foremost.

This is something I’ve written about before in the blog ‘F*CK FEAR, DO THE WORK!’ and is inspired by the work of James Victore.

7. FINISH SOMETHING.

James Victore and Chase Jarvis both talk a lot about ‘Done being better than perfect!’ What the hell is perfect anyway?

Well, we’ve already talked about experimenting, making mistakes and trying to let go of some of the fear we have around our creativity. So, now it’s time to finish something!

Sometimes the idea of perfection can cause a sort of ‘creative paralysis’ where you end up never finishing projects or even worse not even starting them. Try getting out of the habit of saying things like... ‘I’ll do that project, or finish that 'thing' when x is perfect or y is perfect’. Set yourself a target to finish a creative project and put it out there, even if it’s not ‘perfect’ because there is actually no such thing.

FREE DOWNLOADABLE PDF POSTER - 25 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE

So this blog has given you a quick look at ‘7 Ways to Stay Creative’ and I hope you find some of them useful. But how would you like a list of ‘25 Ways to Stay Creative’? It’s completely free too! All you have to do is sign up for the Creative Nowhere Land newsletter below or on the ‘Get in Touch’ page of the website. Once you’ve signed up you’ll receive a welcome email that contains a link to download your free poster. Simple!

Thanks, as always, for reading the blog and sticking with me on my Creative Nowhere Land journey. Be sure to reach out on social media or via email if you have any great techniques that help you stay creative that you’d like to share. Or, even if you just want to say hello. I appreciate every one of you that takes the time to like or support CNL in any way! Until next time, Explore, Inspire and Create.