4 ways to stay inspired

In the creative field, inspiration is the lifeblood. Inventing something new really requires a lot of resources, so it is worth cherishing sources of inspiration. The issue does not only concern actors in the creative field, as in many other jobs, too, you have to brainstorm and solve problems, and take care of maintaining your own work spark and prevent burnout. I get asked from time to time how best to stay inspired.

Tackling this topic was easy and difficult at the same time. Easy because the topic touches me every day, as new ideas and the hunt for inspiration are present in my work every day. It's hard because I'm certainly not always rich in ideas or inspired, but I often have to work hard for them.

However, I have developed a few ways to keep my creativity going and share them with you now. Here are also instructions for situations when ideas just don't move.

My first advice: Calm down the morning

At the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I used to check my work emails already in bed as soon as I woke up. I guess I believed that I was irreplaceable and that my answer depended on at least vital functions. Fail! There was rarely anything fire-rushing in the email, but this habit of mine was a sure way to raise stress levels right in the morning. Because even if there wasn't anything in the email that required treatment right away or something that would have stayed in the mind for breakfast, the function itself was stressful: The very moment I clicked open the email icon on the screen and clicked on the update caused a small, alert feeling of stress.

I don't do that anymore. I learned that you shouldn't start your morning with an underarm salmon road (at least not with a stress-:)) if you don't have to. And in my work rarely is.

I've learned to calm down my mornings. I wake up to my toddler's pace, we play and play, we have breakfast together and we spend the morning in peace. Only a few hours after waking up do we start work.

I'm usually in the best position in the morning, so many mornings I do something creative as my first job: I brainstorm a logo for a client, spin brand colors, write calligraphy, or think about the look of my client's website or the look of a publication. Only after that do I open the email (that is, often only close to lunchtime).

My second advice: Live life, and don't stare too much at the work of others

I work with visuals, and that's why I have to limit my own intake of visual stimuli. Of course, I follow on a general level what is happening in the field of graphic design and corporate identity creation (mainly abroad), but I don't want to constantly see other people's stuff.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

First: I believe that unique ideas are born when you are inspired by something other than your kind. For me, my favorite places to find inspiration are art exhibitions, architecture and as cliché as it sounds, also the colors and shapes of the sky and trees at different times of the year and day. In a nutshell, you could say that I am best inspired by living life.

And secondly: Comparison will kill you. If I spent days staring at the work of other graphic artists, I certainly wouldn't get anything done. I would just be convinced that everything great has already been invented, everything beautiful lives in the works of others, and that I know nothing.

So it's better to focus on living, close your eyes to an excessive flood of stimuli, create your own thing and trust whatever you do.

My third advice: Give yourself time

The spark of work disappears every now and then. It's okay and you shouldn't get too carried away with it. I also have those moments (and days) when nothing interests me and when I just don't leave. Over the years, I have learned to allow such feelings and give them space.

When the spark disappears or the ideas don't come into being, I've found that it's best to retire from work for a while – be it 30 minutes, half a day, a week or a month. When you distance yourself, things tend to brighten up.

It is worth taking this into account already when drawing up a work calendar. Namely, in order for creativity breaks to be possible, the calendar must not be booked to the extreme, but there must be room to move around. Space to take that half-hour or day off in between, even spontaneously. And honestly take a vacation when the time comes. To allow himself a moment of retreat.

A little respite is worth it, because after that, things usually roll really well again.

My fourth advice: Stay on top of what needs to be done

When there is a lot of work to be done, it is important to keep track of what needs to be done at any given time so that things progress and I stay on schedule. That's why I keep a to-do list of jobs.

This sounds like a ridiculously naïve tip, perhaps. But if within the last month you've said aloud phrases like "Sori, I didn't remember", "This is unfortunately a little late" or "Ah, sori, it was forgotten", it's because you don't keep a simple enough to-do list. (Or you overbook your calendar or you don't care, but only you can do something about those things.)

When it comes to to-do lists, my advice is: keep it simple, don't complicate things unnecessarily. A pen and memo work best in my experience. When a memo is one that always travels with you (such as a calendar or bullet journal), your to-do list is both readable and constantly updated.

In addition to the paper calendar, I use reminders in the calendar app on my phone & machine. It is easy to add them even in the evening and schedule to wait for the next working day: the things to be taken care of are not left to your own memory (which, at least for us, is quite flimsy at times).

Many apps are fun and useful, too. But if you waste a lot of time using them, or if they're ones you simply can't remember or have time to add every little bit of stuff throughout the day, you might want to stick to the pen + paper combo.

Annika xx