How To
Creative Blocks And How To Get Over Them
As a person whose creative side is a major part of your professional life, there are days where you will have to work extra hard to keep the spark going. Like everything else in life, your brain shuts down from time to time on the creative side as well. Blocks are natural and when you get them, it takes all you have to get over to the other side. Here are the different types of blocks one goes through in life and here’s how you can get over them!
1. Mental blocks
Mental blocks are created out of your own inability to think beyond what you have been already doing. Either your own inner critic is stopping your brain from thinking differently or you are so tapped out, you keep running in circles through already done and created ideas. In order to get over blocks like this, its time to think beyond what you have been thinking of so far. Talk to people who can offer different viewpoints and can disagree with you, giving you the opportunity of being able to think differently. If that still doesn’t help, start using thinking cards with points that help you think differently. Mental blocks take a while to get over and instead of letting the block affect you, work through getting over them.
2. The emotional disconnect
Creativity is an emotionally exhaustive process. When you are working on the same thing for too long, you end up being completely involved with the process. While in most cases this might be a good thing, it ends up backfiring when you’re too involved with your work. When the peak of emotional involvement reaches a point where you just cannot work anymore, that’s when you know you have an emotional barrier. All these forms of resistance lead to procrastination. The solution? Feel the pain and accept the pain. The only way you can get over to the other side is by getting over the rough patch, so make sure you push through till you reach the good place. Emotional barriers take a long time to get over and only when you commit to wanting to get over it, can you get through to the other side.
3. The barrier of overwhelm
During every work life routine, there comes a time when you have so many tasks to accomplish, you tend to get overwhelmed. With too many deadlines and too many commitments, you just don’t know how to get the work done. The solution? Start saying no to things that you cannot take on anymore. If there are too many ideas running around in your head, start working on those which can be achieved and table down the ones that are going to take a long time to finish. This will help in compartmentalizing your tasks and will also clear out all the information in your head.
4. Communication barriers
How often have you worked in a team and have had issues because the other person just didn’t understand what you said? Miscommunications like these lead to a communication barrier, an issue which results in a decrease in the productivity. Start putting your points across better and if the problem still isn’t solved, try taking a break and working on it from different angles. Perspective is always important in cases like this and the clearer you are in your mind about the barrier, the quicker you can find the solution.
5. Personal barriers
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your personal life and work life overlaps, resulting in a reduction in productivity at the work front. At times like this, your creativity is affected and when that happens, your work suffers. At times when you feel like your personal life is going through too much turmoil, start looking at your work as a place of refuge. Use the work you have as an outlet for everything you cannot deal with and channel your problems into the creative side of your life.
6. Repetitive work patterns
When you work too hard and too regularly, the work pattern can just get too much. Your brain stops functioning the way it used and nothing seems creatively appealing. When this happens, take a step back and reevaluate what you had been doing so far. Take stock of what is working and what isn’t and when you zero in on the things that aren’t, change the working pattern.
Barriers and mental blocks are hard to deal with and they never come with an announcement. Deal with them head on and start working around them to make sure you get to the other side of the grass. If there are any other types of blocks that you think we missed, comment and let us know!
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