5 Ways to Stay Creative in an Ever-Changing World

WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD

By Julianna Moreland

Everyone feels miserably unmotivated from time to time. Here are some tips to overcome those frustrating creative droughts.

Let’s be honest—we are much more creative when we’re busy: think of the countless times you have come up with an original idea in the middle of class or during a work meeting. We use these ideas to push through the everyday boredom with the promise of materialization once available time arises. However, once we do have free time, we use the excuse that we’re too tired so we resort to watching Netflix or browsing Twitter instead. When the global pandemic hit our communities, everyone’s schedules freed up in ways we had always dreamed of.

Suddenly, everyone had all of this extra time to develop hobbies and freely imagine. Some of us thrived! From baking bread to starting side hustles, peers opened up their untapped potential and shared their success all over social media. Taylor Swift even created a lyrical masterpiece, Folklore, which took her only one month to complete. However, not all of us took to this time to be productive. Many of us felt hindered, perhaps spending most of the time at home watching trashy TV and sleeping excessively. Coping with insurmountable creative blockage in addition to the sadness and disappointment with the state of the world is undoubtedly frustrating.

How can we motivate ourselves when the world around us is constantly changing?

Design Christany Sendar

1

CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Take a walk! Rearrange your room! Staying within the confines of your home for days on end only bores the mind. Any new scenery can stimulate thinking, helping you form new ideas.

2

DO SOMETHING YOU DON’T WANT TO DO

Throughout my life, every time I have complained of boredom or frustration, my mother would immediately state the above rule. Even though I almost always scoffed, she was always right: clean your home, study for an exam, follow an extra workout routine. These are all activities that may seem like an annoyance but can help stimulate your mind.

3

CREATE A MOOD BOARD

Nothing satisfies the soul more than a group of aesthetically pleasing images collaged together. You can make a dream board complete with pictures of your goals—this also helps with manifestation—or just a color and theme collage.

4

FIND NEW BLOGS OR ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW

Looking at the same Instagram accounts will not uncover new ideas! Follow an aesthetics page or a new illustration blog. Observing new trends and styles will inspire you to try something unique.

5

STOP THINKING ABOUT IT

As cliche as it sounds, taking a break from your focus can help ease thought-provoked pressure. Think about all of those task-induced headaches! Procrastination should not always have a negative connotation.

Whether it is art, literature, or a funny meme, creativity is something that brings us all together and helps us through difficult times. Blockages are normal! When we finally get through these irritating barriers, some of our best ideas and work can materialize.