Inspirational Slump

Maybe you should try eating Omega 3. Seriously.

Also, you may want to take a break from your creative job altogether. Go do something totally different for 3-6 month. I guarantee you will come back full of inspiration.

The reason is during this time you will not need to be inspired and the lack of pressure will do miracles.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice Ivan, I think I'll look into a more balanced diet altogether, and I'll definitely take the Omega 3 into consideration.

As for the 3-6 month break...yeah. I'm definitely going to look into that.

Cheers

Motivation in our trade is a tough one. As Ivan pointed out, diet is important. I haven't tried the 3-6 month hiatus thing yet...maybe some day in a Florida bar looking for my lost shaker of salt...

But until that time arrives, I motivate myself by sketching in places I don't generally sketch; painting and crafts with my sons or working on my first novel--I find channeling my energy into another creative vein helps kickstart my designing mojo.

Good luck with the block. That sucks.
3dog

I set myself a goal and a set of deadlines/milestones to reach it. It could be getting a blog online or, as at the moment, writing a 50,000 word novel (www.nanowrimo.org).

The key is to put pressure on yourself to just do something, not something great or perfect or especially wonderful, just something.

Give it a try and you'll be amazed at how many ideas and paths you generate.

Do a logo for those National Novel guys. Seriously - 2 weeks off and you're complaining? It's okay to take a break, Leaky.

It actually helps me to NOT focus on being creative 24/7.

I think it's a good thing that when I get home from work in the evenings, I don't usually feel creatively inspired. I used to think something was wrong with me that I wasn't wanting to do creative stuff during my free time. Really, I think it saves me and helps me stay creative at my job.

It's when I lose my urge for creative work at my job where I start to get stressed... but this doesn't happen too often either. The nice thing about the work that I do is that I'm continuously working on different projects with different "requirements" where creativity is concerned. Some stuff is more "busy-work" which can be mindless and not really require a lot of creative thinking. Some stuff is a lot of tinkering and tweaking of web stuff on the technical side... not the design side. Some stuff is arranging meetings and working with personnel and just doing general brain-storming and organizing. And then there is the creative stuff.

Do you have a lot of variety in your work? If not, maybe try to see how you can change what you do to incorporate more variety. I realize freelancing is different from working at a full-time job, but I think there are still lots of things you can do for your freelance business that don't draw on your creative reservoir. Stuff like working on your business books. Organizing your client files. Brainstorming a business plan. Networking. Maybe even move your office around - change where you have your desk located, for instance.

Then, while you're doing those minimally-creative things, keep doing stuff that fills your creative reservoir... reading, listening to music, watching movies, visiting the museum, shopping at the local art supply store, etc.

In any case... you're not alone. :) We all go through it at times.

Leaky, don't worry too much about your slump. It hasn't really been such a long one -- but I sympathize. I'm going to be another voice in the wind hollering about what you eat. You might want to see if you might be loading up too much on "bad carbs" -- the kind that convert almost instantly to sugar, which just get you jittery for a while, then you crash.

But here's the thing. Maybe you're having a left-brain spell. If so, great! Use it! Get anal about your bookkeeping. Come up with a better proposal form. Rip the studio apart and throw out stuff you never use, to get some fresh air blowing through the whole operation. You know what I mean. Focus on the things your brain seems to be wanting you to focus on, at least for a while. Balance will return, and probably you'll lean more in favor of creativity (right-brained stuff) again.

Thanks Kelly and Mara,

It's been a few months now really, to be honest, where I've been working but just doing going through the motions. Recently, about in the last three months, I decided to cut down on freelancing and just creating things for the heck of creating. In the past two weeks, that feeling has disappeared altogether. I just think I've used up the creativity well and need a break to recharge my batteries. The idea about doing a bit of housekeeping with the business would actually be a great idea, it'll give me the chance to be a little proactive, although starting up a new project might also be in order. My biggest, irrational worry is I never get that creativity back!

I'm in the same boat right now. About a month ago I lost a job I really (really really) wanted to land. I 99% sure the project was mine, and I've been in a tailspin ever since.

I've wanted to just quit. I'm tired of dealing with clients, tired of having to continually prove my worth, tired of the no-thanks.

I lose projects all the time, but this one was a punch in the gut.

I'll make it through (What the heck else can I do?) but this is the roller coaster that comes with running your own business, I guess.

I know this isn't quite what you're going through LP, just wanted to share that un-inspiration hits us all at times.

CHANGE THE FURNITURE POSITION IN YOUR HOME!

and eat more fruits.