by Tommy Taylor
September 18, 2012
As one who
has been squirming inside a creative rut for quite some time, it
recently
occurred to me that my efforts to dig myself out of the rut might make
good
fodder for a blog. I had this plan to publicly chronicle my anguish in
hopes
that readers would learn something valuable from my struggle, not
unlike
celebrities who broadcast their colonoscopies or liposuction procedures
to
raise awareness about public health and whatnot. But I hit a snag. So
firmly
entrenched was I in this creative rut that, even after hours of
research, I
really had nothing but garbage to share. That’s when my inherently
efficient
nature kicked in. “EUREKA!” I thought! “I’ll have someone else write the blog …
someone not
currently in a creative rut!” And that’s precisely what I did. Yes, I
reached
out to people I find incredibly inspiring and asked them the question
“What do
YOU do when you find yourself in a creative rut?” I received some
fantastic
responses, all of which I’ll be sharing with you over the coming weeks.
We’ll kick things
off with a very insightful response I received from a man who simply
goes by
“Vegan Black Metal Chef.” His name pretty much says all you need to
know: he’s
a vegan who hosts a web-based video series that is half cooking show,
half
black metal music video. Here’s what the good chef had to share with us
on
overcoming creative blocks.
Vegan
Black Metal Chef
"Creative
blocks are a natural part of this process as anyone who does anything
creative
knows. One is not ‘on’ all the time. Here are a few of the things I do
to get
myself out of a rut."
- Have
a purpose -Why are you doing what you are doing? Be sure to
begin with the end in mind on what you want. This purpose does not
prevent blocks, but gives the power to get through them. If you are not
enjoying what you are doing and do not have a purpose for doing it,
life is going to suck. Yes your life.
- Keep
on Keeping on - With that said purpose in mind, when blocks
arise... do something, do ANYTHING to just keep hacking at the problem.
Even if it is something uncreative, there are usually creative and
uncreative parts of any project. Keep doing whatever you can while you
think of a solution.
- Keep
learning something new in your field every day - Seriously, take
some time each and every day to sharpen your skills even .001 percent.
Years down the road when you have amassed a lot of skill, .001 percent
at that level is a lot compared to the person just starting out. Its
effects are compounding. Watch youtube videos in your field to get
inspiration.
- Liberate
yourself to acquire the tools you need to have the most fun - If
the tools are hardware, software, or education (or all of them),
liberate yourself to spend the time, money, and energy required to
obtain them.
- Have
fun in life - The rest of the valley prepares one to climb the
next peak. If you are constantly climbing peaks you will come to hate
them rather than enjoy their victory. Eventually you may see a peak
that is too hard for you to climb at your current worn out level.
- Learn
how you work best - I have learned that my body has visceral
reactions to deadlines concerning creative projects. Every time I have
a self imposed or not self imposed deadline, I waste more energy
thinking about how stressed I am than I put into the projects. If you
enjoy what you are doing (not trying to avoid it) then you will still
get things done in a timely fashion.
- Alternate creative activities throughout
the day with something mechanical if possible. - Doing constant
creativity can usually lead to burn out, but if you mix it in with
something mechanical, even monotonous uncreative work that keeps
leading you toward you goal it provides a good brain break.
Personally,
as a member of the meat-eating, non-black-metal-listening-to
population, I
greatly respect what Vegan Black Metal Chef is doing: informing and
rapidly
expanding his audience in a creative (and often hilarious) way. A quick
note of
caution: below, I have provided a link to his YouTube channel for those
wishing
to explore Vegan Black Metal Chef. The content (language) you’ll
encounter may
be found offensive by some, so just a heads up there. Enjoy! And be
sure to
stay tuned as we share other responses we’ve received over the coming
weeks.
http://www.youtube.com/user/VeganBlackMetalChef
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