Featured Article
What To Do If You've Hit A Creative Wall
by: Kathy Barron
We’ve all had days, weeks, and months when the creativity wall hits us. The creative flame has either been snuffed out or is not getting enough fuel. The negative voices in our head just won’t shut up. Imposter syndrome is a chronic state and won’t let go of its grip. We’ve all been there.
It’s our natural state to be creative and to share it with the world. Why else have we so much effort to produce a podcast on a regular basis? We are natural born creatives. But even our creativity goes through seasons; it ebbs and flows. Although sometimes it isn’t flowing at all.
In his book, War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes the toxic power of resistance on creators, “Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that’s what it takes to deceive you.” And then there’s fear, and it’s a bitch. It can paralyze you. It can mess you up. The acronym of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is based on our perceptions about what might happen. Our brain is bored it goes to the dark side and ventures into the land of “what ifs,” and those intruding thoughts mess with us. We often fear things and situations that will never happen.
Gloria Mark, professor at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at UC Irvine, conducted a study that “discovered that on average information workers have a very short attention span when working on the computer, with a median duration of focus of just 40 seconds before switching tasks.” Bren explains that typically the worker will be write a report , then check email, and then turn back to the report, then check social media, and several other sites before going back to the original task of working on the report. The study also found that “shifting attention rapidly throughout the workday is linked with stress and lower productivity.” People check email 74 times a day. It takes time and energy to switch our attention to the original task after being distracted. This is known as an interruption cost.
So how can we overcome the distractions, fear, and anxiety? How can we step out of the ebb and build momentum to hitch a ride with the flow?
One way is to manage our distractions and not be controlled by them. Get rid of the distractions that are sucking the creative energy from you. We have become the age of social media, smart phones, apps, text messages, and more apps. Turn off those notifications. Set your phone to “do not disturb” and keep it across the room from you. Some of us record our podcast in the closet. So go sit in the closet, even when you aren’t recording, to reconnect with your creative self.
A certain amount of anxiety comes with being a creative. We all have off days and just aren’t feeling like ourselves. Give yourself the space and grace when fear and anxiety consumes you. Take breaks, go for a walk, reach out to a friend, whatever it is that helps ease anxiety. These moments can also recharge your creative energy and spark a solution to what your anxiety was about in the first place.
Another way to overcome fear is to face the fear and do it anyway. Challenge yourself to do one thing that takes you out of your comfort zone. Go to a movie or have dinner by yourself, post that video you’ve been saving for the right moment to social media, or call that guest you’ve always wanted on your podcast. Sometimes taking one small step is all we need to get momentum going. As podcasters, we are always asked to find our “why.” And when we do, it motivates us to take action and focus with courage and determination. It lights a fire within us and taps into a source of creativity that we didn’t know we even had.
All of these small action steps build on each other, gathering momentum, and eventually unleashes the creative powerhouse that you are in this world. So if you’re finding it difficult to get over that wall, take a step back and remember why you’re doing your podcast. Don’t fall prey to the words of Seneca, “You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.” Stoke your creative fire. Share your creative genius.
Kathy Barron is the host of Women Who Sarcast podcast and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women Who Podcast magazine. When she isn't sarcasting, she cuts digital film, rides her e-bike around town, and loves being on the water with her SUP board. @womenwhosarcast
by: Kathy Barron
We’ve all had days, weeks, and months when the creativity wall hits us. The creative flame has either been snuffed out or is not getting enough fuel. The negative voices in our head just won’t shut up. Imposter syndrome is a chronic state and won’t let go of its grip. We’ve all been there.
It’s our natural state to be creative and to share it with the world. Why else have we so much effort to produce a podcast on a regular basis? We are natural born creatives. But even our creativity goes through seasons; it ebbs and flows. Although sometimes it isn’t flowing at all.
In his book, War of Art, Steven Pressfield describes the toxic power of resistance on creators, “Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate, falsify; seduce, bully, cajole. Resistance is protean. It will assume any form, if that’s what it takes to deceive you.” And then there’s fear, and it’s a bitch. It can paralyze you. It can mess you up. The acronym of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is based on our perceptions about what might happen. Our brain is bored it goes to the dark side and ventures into the land of “what ifs,” and those intruding thoughts mess with us. We often fear things and situations that will never happen.
Gloria Mark, professor at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at UC Irvine, conducted a study that “discovered that on average information workers have a very short attention span when working on the computer, with a median duration of focus of just 40 seconds before switching tasks.” Bren explains that typically the worker will be write a report , then check email, and then turn back to the report, then check social media, and several other sites before going back to the original task of working on the report. The study also found that “shifting attention rapidly throughout the workday is linked with stress and lower productivity.” People check email 74 times a day. It takes time and energy to switch our attention to the original task after being distracted. This is known as an interruption cost.
So how can we overcome the distractions, fear, and anxiety? How can we step out of the ebb and build momentum to hitch a ride with the flow?
One way is to manage our distractions and not be controlled by them. Get rid of the distractions that are sucking the creative energy from you. We have become the age of social media, smart phones, apps, text messages, and more apps. Turn off those notifications. Set your phone to “do not disturb” and keep it across the room from you. Some of us record our podcast in the closet. So go sit in the closet, even when you aren’t recording, to reconnect with your creative self.
A certain amount of anxiety comes with being a creative. We all have off days and just aren’t feeling like ourselves. Give yourself the space and grace when fear and anxiety consumes you. Take breaks, go for a walk, reach out to a friend, whatever it is that helps ease anxiety. These moments can also recharge your creative energy and spark a solution to what your anxiety was about in the first place.
Another way to overcome fear is to face the fear and do it anyway. Challenge yourself to do one thing that takes you out of your comfort zone. Go to a movie or have dinner by yourself, post that video you’ve been saving for the right moment to social media, or call that guest you’ve always wanted on your podcast. Sometimes taking one small step is all we need to get momentum going. As podcasters, we are always asked to find our “why.” And when we do, it motivates us to take action and focus with courage and determination. It lights a fire within us and taps into a source of creativity that we didn’t know we even had.
All of these small action steps build on each other, gathering momentum, and eventually unleashes the creative powerhouse that you are in this world. So if you’re finding it difficult to get over that wall, take a step back and remember why you’re doing your podcast. Don’t fall prey to the words of Seneca, “You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.” Stoke your creative fire. Share your creative genius.
Kathy Barron is the host of Women Who Sarcast podcast and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women Who Podcast magazine. When she isn't sarcasting, she cuts digital film, rides her e-bike around town, and loves being on the water with her SUP board. @womenwhosarcast
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