Ep. 56: The Flawed Logic Behind Common Creativity Hacks

Creator's Block

Here's the thing about being a marketing creative -- whether you're a designer, developer, or content creator.

There is this constant pressure to perform. To be creative. To stay creative. To be able to spontaneously produce compelling, engaging, inspiring products for clients out of thin air and on-demand.

It's great that our previous ideas and our work has given us a reputation of being creative wizards, but sometimes the idea of having to live up to those expectations can be stressful.

In an act of genuine good faith, our own industry of creative professionals has attempted to solve this problem. While there is some really good stuff out there, most of the content that's supposed to help you be more creative is useless -- either because it's totally unrealistic or utter nonsense.

"You have to freelance on the side. You need to write 1,000 words before dawn. You must doodle. Here are 751 writing prompts you didn't ask for. Take a walk. Go on a vacation you probably don't have time for. Take a class you can't afford. Dance like nobody's watching. Write a novel in 100 words. Consider how a bee would solve your problem."

It's gotten to the point where it's more exhausting to sift through all of the bad creativity hacks out there than to just suffer with our momentary feelings of being uninspired.

That's what we wanted to talk about this week. It's a new year, so we're all focused on how we can be our best creative selves in 2018. But what should that look like, and how do we get there?

Enjoy!