What does creative blocking really consist of, can we avoid it or is it something beyond our control?
I think creative block can be summed up as a lack of energy or motivation. It usually arises when we are working on a project we don’t like or when we are saturated and the mind needs to concentrate on another activity.
On internet we can find a lot of documentation to overcome creative blocks, but few people talk about its origins and what this state of mind is really about.
I believe that basically we are in a state of demotivation generated by multiple causes, which are necessary to identify in order to find a solution. In many occasions this block is due to a mental saturation, our thoughts do not circulate with clarity and are locked in a small circle from which they cannot get out.
Causes of creative block
Demanding a lot from you
Obsessively looking for results and not getting them on time can cause frustrations that will block you from moving forward. Do not compare your work with that of other artists who you think are better than you, this will increase your sense of frustration and make you believe that you are not good at what you do.
Look to the work of others for inspiration but not as a point of comparison. This will lead to a lack of confidence and motivation.
Social networks play a very harmful role in this aspect. Who has not uploaded an image of the work done and has not received the interaction they expected. If you upload something to social networks you will have to get used to it. Do not worry about it, it can be due to many factors that do not depend on you, but if I give you a piece of advice, do not publish anything on the internet hoping to get compliments, publish because you consider it worthwhile and you are proud of your work.
Overwork
Wanting to cover more work than you are able to do can produce a creative block due to the stress involved, which brings us to the point we talked about earlier “Demanding too much”. Nowadays it is difficult to dedicate yourself to only one thing 100%, if you are a graphic designer you have to design, attend social networks, publish on the blog, receive emails, you also make videos, you train daily, you practice your English… That’s why it’s so important to be organized and set some feasible tasks and go step by step.
Low motivation
A project that does not motivate from the beginning starts badly. Try to find which parts of the project can motivate you the most, this way when you get to the heaviest part it will make you see it from other point of view.
It may also happen that a project takes a direction you don’t consider appropriate. Try to take it as a challenge and solve it the best way you know how.
Como superar un bloqueo creativo
The solution to the creative block I think is something very personal. We can regularly perform certain actions that we have read in a book, to help us to disconnect and unlock that mental overload, but I think the answer we will find it in each of us. Don’t do those actions mechanically, just because you read it in a book, you know better than anyone what your body needs to get out of that creative block. Learn to listen to yourself 😉
In this article I share the activities I do to overcome the creative block, which work for me and I practice daily. Maybe they will help you, but I repeat, I think this is a personal issue that we must learn for ourselves.