Supercharge Your Creativity By Simplicity
Sometimes in life it feels as if our career slows down. The amount of work we submit gets sparser, the, time we have to write lowers. Things just get busy.
We find ourselves with less time after our appointments, workouts, and tasks around the home are complete. As designers it becomes a place where the “itch” for something to do comes in. “I want to start something new,” they say, “who can I talk with in order to get something going?”
Well, creativity is a bit more versatile than artistic endeavors alone. Making something new and interesting can happen anytime anywhere. That said, it is important to understand what design concepts should be running in the back of our minds all the time in order to make quick decisions on what to do creatively, even if it is doing the dishes.
SIMPLICITY
To begin, I think it is important to step back and recognize simplicity as a design medium. Although textbooks may not consider it a term, I think the concept or idea of simplicity is the key to effective storytelling and design.
Why?
Because simple ideas are easy to interpret and understand. For example, the best music videos out there revolve around one idea, and that one idea only. To engage the audience then is an overall aesthetic respect for the visuals rather than focusing so much on trying to understand the content, which can happen when so many elements are thrown into one basket.
I believe that it is important to understand that simplifying one’s creative life is exactly how we make it more fulfilling. It is easy to run into the “be busy” trap, and as soon as we say, “Yes” to too many things, what gets put aside? Creative endeavors. That’s why learning to say, “No” and working on creative works (even when you don’t want to) is how a person can continually grow and find satisfaction in the things they do.
YOU DON'T NEED TO BE MENTALLY STABLE TO DO WORK
Don’t fall into the trap that we must be “mentally stable” in order to work either. Professionals go to work even when they don’t want to. Finding the discipline to discover the best time you work and using that time to make creative things is the key. If you come home from a long day of work and don’t want to work on creative things, then try doing it in the morning before you go to work. Finding the time where you do your best and get the most done, is time for creativity. Not time to run to the grocery store. Do that after you do your creative work.
To be frank, I need this advice myself. A lot of times I do the “Do I feel like it?” test and find myself doing less than what I want. Sometimes I just need to kick things into gear and get things done. I’ve been spending time simplifying my life recently, and I have found that doing so has made me less stressed overall. I feel like I have more time for reading, meditating, a workout, and being able to create things in a day. I feel much more satisfied as a designer and seem to get more done.
I encourage those who find themselves swimming in work to take a breather, do one thing at a time, and start saying, “No.” As much as you want to take on a project because it is “cool,” do YOU first. Make sure you can handle it, and simplify what you do, so that you can do more. It seems backwards but trust me on this. You won’t regret it.
