Boot Those Creative Blogger Juices
If you’re a blogger, you’ll already know that constantly coming up with creative content is a must. But just like most, if not all the creatives out there, you might experience a creative “block” when ideally you want to be practising a creative “flow”. As it’s difficult to put your finger on creativity, most assume that “you either got it or you don’t”, but just like any other skill, creativity can be cultivated. So here are some top tips, tricks and techniques to speed up that elusive “Aha!” moment.
Connect Outside Your Connections
Birds of a feather who stick together become sitting ducks; don’t limit your interaction to those with similar interests. Be forward to forge new frontiers. Network with people who have interests outside of that related to your blog. If you’re a cake blogger hang out with a fitness blogger. Expand your circle to get inspiration from all walks of life. Creatives don’t stick to one area, they are constantly experimenting, observing, questioning and trying new things.
Go on…Take a chance
A risk is a risk because we’re unsure of the outcome. That’s the reason many bloggers fail to take risks; once they’ve established what their readers or followers like, they stick to it. Scared of their devotees’ reaction, bloggers limit the risks they take. But some risks do pay off! You’ll never know if you don’t try! So while some of your efforts will probably not always be directly appreciated, you will be boosting your creative talent whilst simultaneously building new skills you would have never gained otherwise.
Get physical
Just because you’re a fashion blogger not a fitness one, doesn’t mean you can’t exercise! There’s a reason exercising is one of the most desired and aspired to habits out there. Not only does is get the heart pumping and increase your positivity, physical exercise can train your brain into becoming more flexible, when it comes to finding creative solutions.
Double Up and Go with the flow
Yes, your mood can go up and down, just like a yoyo, but you can make good use of your ying and your yang. Don’t just be happy when you’re happy or moody when you’re moody, use that emotional energy to your advantage. Research suggests that creativity increases when positive and negative emotions are running high! So when you’re miserable about not being able to accumulate enough ideas, start accumulating ideas!
Become an expert
Whether you’re a foodie, a fashionista, a traveler or an excessive exerciser, you need to know your stuff. Have a rich understanding of your zone, the area you want to focus on and look at other bloggers you are similar to. Being aware of what’s already out there is a great way to get inspired and start creating novel and innovative blogs.
Wonder off to dreamland for a while
Once you’ve found a content topic, daydream! Research has shown that daydreaming helps with boosting your creativity, but only when you’re committed towards a project. Daydreaming helps with the incubation of ideas but it only works if you already have the information you need! Once you’ve invested some amount of creative effort on a project, take a break to daydream. Daydreaming alone won’t hack it, first commit to an idea and then daydream all you like. So if you thought you could get away with just daydreaming all day, think again!
Brainstorm
When it comes to brainstorming less is definitely not more. Your goal is to write as many ideas as possible in a short time frame and refine them later on. So after you have removed all judgement and self-criticism write whatever ideas come to mind and get those creative juices flowing.
Switch your schedule
You might be a morning person or a night owl. Whatever category you fall into, that is whenever you think you do your best thinking, try doing the opposite to your circadian rhythm (that’s your internal clock which will be sure to let you know which category you may fall into). Switching your timetable, is underlined by the simple fact that, during off-peak times we tend to be less focused, more relaxed and our mind a little more disorganised, allowing you to access more alternatives, make more connections and diverse interpretations, subconsciously.
Getting out of your usual environment, can be just the thing you need for an instant spark of creativity. Changing your environment forces your brain to escape its’ habitual thinking. Even though moving to Paris or Milan and immersing yourself in a different culture has been found to increase your creativity significantly, unless you can afford to do so, a day spent by the beach instead of the office, or the park rather than your bedroom will do!
