So, here’s everything I know about my nemesis, creative block:
tl;dr
1. Lack of Research
Symptom: “I have zero ideas”
Copywriter David Abbott said, “I spend a lot of time fact-finding. I don’t start writing until I have too much to say.” That makes sense. Creativity is just connecting things. But to connect the dots, you must first find them.
Treatment: Reasearch
2. No Structure
Symptom: “I don’t know where to start”
Pixar has used Kenn Adams’s Story Spine structure for Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Coco, The Incredibles, and many others. Even the most creative people don’t reinvent the wheel each time.
Treatment: Use a Formula
3. Fear of Failure
Symptom: “This time, I’m going to fail”
After releasing her album ’21,’ Adele’s fear almost led her to retire from music. “I didn’t think I had it in me to write another record. I didn’t know if I should, given how successful ’21’ was.”
Treatment: Negative Brainstorming
Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl used to recommend his insomniac patients try to stay up as long as possible. Intentionally doing what they feared relieved their anxiety, and they fell asleep.
So, when I’m afraid of writing bad headlines, I do just that.
4. Bad Mood
Symptom: “I would do it, but not today”
Treatment: Mood Boosters
Kat Norton (aka Miss Excel) has generated over $2M with her content and courses.
Before recording her videos, Norton does something she calls a “mood boost”: “I blast some music and dance! Because when I feel really good, the person on the other side of the screen can’t help but smile.”
5. Empty Well
Symptom: “I’m sick of this job”
“I had learned already never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.” – Hemingway
Treatment: Creative Rest
6. Rigid Routine
Symptom: “My ideas are always the same”
Rory Sutherland says that structure is good for creativity, but too much predictability and logic kill the magic.
Treatment: Make a Change
7. Too Much Freedom
Symptom: “I’m overwhelmed”
The mechanical shark Steven Spielberg used for filming ‘Jaws’ kept breaking down. So, Spielberg had to find a way to create suspense without even showing the shark. “It was just good fortune that the shark kept breaking because it is a scarier movie without seeing so much of the shark,” he said.
Boundaries boost creativity. Open briefs often do the opposite.
Treatment: Creative limitations
Limit yourself to just one:
