How to: stay creative + block out all the noise
It’s been over a year since the pandemic has shut down a lot of our world, causing us to have to shift our lifestyles, our ways of working, and ways of creating. A year since many have decided to make a Tik Tok, build a blog (me), a create a more business-centered Instagram profile. There’s so much out there. There’s so much content to look at. SO much to get discouraged by, but SO much to get inspired by. Are you finding yourself feeling like whatever you are doing isn’t good enough? Will it get lost in the crowds of the never-ending and addicting internet scroll? How will my hard work ever get seen? What value and purpose am I giving to my audience? Is it even worth it to post? Are you guys asking yourself these questions, or is it just me?
I wish there was a blog post that could cure all creative lulls and break through imposter syndrome indefinitely. But unfortunately, there’s not. However, I do hope that this could be a tool for you. There’s definitely things you can do as a creator to help refuel you and to bring you back to why you started creating in the first place! The world has gotten hectic. There’s so much noise, so let’s go over some things you can do to drown out the noise and focus on your creativity again. Let’s do a reset…
Here’s 10 tips:
+ Make your bed
This is an obvious. How many times have you seen this tip posted or talked about? Only could mean one thing..it works. Before I do it I’m always like “ehhh, I don’t need to.” Right when I’m done, I feel like a badass productive B. You try it and tell me different.
+ put your phone out of sight, in another room
I am trying this lately and let me tell you….life changing tip. We are all somewhat addicted to our phones. It’s a distraction. A thing we can pick up and scroll through when things feel mundane and not “stimulating” enough. I got to the point where I could barely watch a show with my husband because I was distracted by the damn phone. A distraction from something that’s already a distraction (embarrassing). Please tell me you can relate. Easiest way to train yourself to not do this is putting it out of sight. You’ll start to see that embarrassing habit break.
+ Make lists, like detailed ones
Getting better at this. Some days I have lists that are a mile long, and sometimes I only have 2-3 things scheduled out. I’ve had days where I schedule the smallest things, like “eat breakfast.” Give yourself a structured and scheduled life. You’ll find more purpose in that, especially if you are prone to anxiety or depression.
+ Schedule leisure time
This goes hand-in-hand with the tip above. Seems silly, but schedule “watching serial killer series with husband”. OK, you don’t have to get that detailed, but you know what I mean. We all say, “oh, I don’t have time to do things like that”. Well, here to tell you if you physically schedule the time for what you want to do in life, you’re way more likely to do it. Remember that your leisure time, whatever it may be for you, fuels your productive time.
+ Write, with no purpose of people seeing it
I recently expressed to my therapist that I was hesitant to write my negative and bad thoughts in a journal, cause I’ve thought “what if I randomly died and my words are found, and people think I’m a psycho.” She laughed, and gave me the advice of ripping up the page after my writing sessions. The first couple of times, I did that. But now I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of writing things down and keeping them, knowing these words are for me only, and nobody else.
+ Mindfully choose the content you consume
This was an amazing tip I recently heard from Lauren Evarts Bostick, the genius blogger and podcaster of The Skinny Confidential. Since there are SO many creators, so much noise, and so much to look at on social, it’s important to strategically choose the creators you consume. Choose 5-10 people’s stories to watch. Do you like baking and fashion? Choose one creator for each topic. *Make sure to add your best friend that you’re supporting into the 5-10* Pro tip: Following too many of the creators in the same space (ie. fashion) can dull your own sense of self, and could move you to be TOO inspired by them. Make sure the creators interest you but are not too similar to you.
+ Tidy up
Another pretty obvious one. I have times where I can definitely work productively with a cluttered space (unpopular opinion), but when I do decide to declutter and clean up, it’s amazing how much more clear my mind can be. Having a creative block? Try cleaning something or reorganizing a space. It’s a mindless task that gives you time to think (kind of like how a shower sparks new ideas).
+ Twist your negative thoughts
*Disclaimer: this is a huge one. I am still working on this every single day. I’ll probably never master it.* A really good way to do this is to write down the negative thought. See how it looks on paper? It’s pretty mean. It’s usually pretty degrading to yourself or someone else. Underneath the negative phrase, literally rewrite the phrase to be a positive or forgiving statement. A couple examples of one that’s in my journal now:
—I am not being a good enough mom
——> I am doing the best I can right now
—I am so sad right now
——> Tomorrow will be better, it always is.
+ Only check your email for chunks at a time
Another addicting thing to do at all times of the day, especially if you have a “workaholic” mindset and feel that you need to respond immediately to be viewed as a hardworker, is to constantly check the email. Anyone else? If you’ve ever seen the documentary “the social dilemma,” you’ll learn that Google has designed the most addicting and dopamine-releasing mail interface and App. It’s no wonder getting an email and responding feels so good and productive all the time. How can you limit opening your mail app? Schedule times where you can actually check your email. Maybe it’s in the morning from 9-10am. And again at 1-2pm. Your job may require you to be “on call” and check more often, but try to be mindful of clumping email responses in the same period of time, so your brain stays more organized.
+ Stop multitasking so much
This goes hand-in-hand with above. Again, probably a very unpopular opinion. I mean, WHAT? I grew up being taught that multitasking was good. Think about college. Or your crazy career. Or life in general. Multitasking is, of course, is inevitable at times, but it can and should and could be controlled more. Studies show that if you’re working on something creative and get interrupted by an email notification, prompting you to reply right at that moment, your brain gets so confused and derails completely. It’s so obvious right? You don’t really need studies to understand that it is true. Multitask does not equal productivity. Do yourself a favor and next time you are interviewing for a job, don’t describe yourself as a good multitasker.
Now that I’ve spilled all these tips on you, I’m gonna go ahead and read this every day so I can practice what I preach. :) These will take work. They will take discipline. But do you want your self-doubt to fade? Do you wanna feel more refreshed creatively? Give them a try.
Hope this was helpful. Until next time.
xx,
Madi