It's OK to Not Be Creative All the Time

Photo by bennett tobias on Unsplash

So I was on a call with someone who I was working with on designing a presentation and he mentioned something I hear a lot when working with non-designers: “I’m not creative”. I immediately let him know he was, and then I started thinking about how creativity is perceived, especially in the workplace, and how the word “creative” can be worn as an emblem and also endured like a curse.

Designers have shifted to referring to themselves as “creatives” which makes sense because design has evolved to more than just “designing”. Now designers are also thought leaders, problem solvers, sources of empathy and humanists, designing logos and products and philosophies all while wearing that same hat. Creative encompasses all of that, but what happens when you get to a point where you need to make something but you’re all tapped out of creativity?

You might be at that point now. 2020 may have had added a bit of strain on your creativity, what with trying to survive both physically and emotionally, and having all your safety nets burned down. Admittedly, I want to be as far away from a “creative” mindset as possible. I’m worrying about my family, my health, the security of my job. Additionally, life continues on: dishes still pile up, bills need to be paid, and my son is still marching to kindergarten age (meaning that we need to move into a better school system at a higher cost of living sometime in the nebulous “near future”).

But my job is being creative. I’m expected to “do my magic”. And to keep all those aforementioned plates spinning, I’ve got to come up with something.

“You stick to what you know. You ask questions. You lean on the people around you. ”

What do you do?

Well, you stop being creative.

You stick to what you know. You ask questions. You lean on the people around you.

You shut out the notion of creativity in exchange of a systematic approach of what needs to happen right now. And you work that problem out by focusing on the needs and letting go of the wants.

You revisit the basics and dust off the principles buried in books you haven’t flipped through in years (you’ve probably got a bit more time on your hands, anyway). You consider if the solution you’re drafting fulfills the principles of space, value, line, shape, size, color, and texture. You check off those boxes and if you haven’t checked them all, you iterate until you can. You’re not making up a thing, there is no magic. It’s just allowing yourself to submit to the grind of figuring it out based on your knowledge and experience.

And then, after releasing the valve of creativity for a while, you’ll find that the well starts to fill up again. It may take longer than you’re comfortable, but that’s OK. The thing about creativity and inspiration is that you can’t force it. The more you try to tap in the more elusive it becomes. Give yourself space, enough space that you find yourself bored and your mind starts to wander.

This blog post isn’t scientific, and I’m no expert in cultivating an environment for creativity. But I’m a human being that’s thrown for a loop while still trying to maintain my craft, and I imagine there are a lot of you out there experiencing the same thing. While some may be preaching the benefits of productivity and how this is the perfect time to get your juices flowing (maybe it is, if so, embrace it!), I’ll say to whoever needs to hear it right now:

You can still work and make things, and it’s OK to not be creative all the time.