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<\/p>\nSometimes the most challenging thing in marketing is keeping the good ideas coming. Sometimes, having a good idea on demand is more challenging than it sounds.<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s coming up with a hook for your next campaign, working out the gritty details of your marketing strategy, or trying to get a spreadsheet to do that one thing that\u2019s going to make your life easier, sometimes you just need to keep the mental engine running at full speed.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever had one of those mornings (or afternoons\u2026 or evenings\u2026) where you\u2019re staring at a piece of work and your head is going nowhere, then hopefully this article will help.<\/p>\n
Here are 4 tricks I use to keep coming up with new ideas when I\u2019m up against it.\n<\/p>\n
When I\u2019m stuck on a problem, or am struggling to come up with a new hook\/concept\/whatever, one of the first things I do is move. Sometimes it\u2019s as simple as going to get a glass of water or a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n
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There\u2019s something in taking your attention off the problem that allows your mental blocks to become unstuck. It\u2019s amazing how often I\u2019ve solved a problem only a few feet from my desk on the way to the kitchen.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it takes a bigger change. Whether that means hot desking or finding an empty meeting room, the important thing is that I\u2019m in a different environment.<\/p>\n
Sometimes it\u2019s merely the act of unplugging the laptop, moving to a new desk and getting set up that helps to kick start idling creative processes, while other times it\u2019s the change in atmosphere or surroundings that helps you to think in a different way.<\/p>\n
I find few things more frustrating than staring at a screen and getting nowhere.<\/p>\n
The method I use most frequently is to do something physical \u2013 and by that I don\u2019t mean go for a run, although if that works for you then more power to you. I\u2019m often coming up with campaign plans and structures, so for me this most commonly means drawing all over a piece of A3 to map out the different audiences, channels and destinations.<\/p>\n
However, I\u2019ve found this to be equally useful in other kinds of creative work. Whether that\u2019s iterating titles of a guide, or sketching out a sitemap, or quickly drawing up a page layout wireframe, sometimes it\u2019s just quicker and easier than drafting on a computer.<\/p>\n
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Plus as an added bonus, it takes away the pressure of it needing to be perfect. Whether you know it or not, often when you sit down and start working on something on a screen, you\u2019re already working on the \u2018final\u2019 version.<\/p>\n
With your hardcopy sketches\/scribbles you know you\u2019re going to have to digitise them, and by putting yourself in the earlier part of that creative drafting process you free yourself up to make mistakes and\/or find different ways of doing things.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the best way to unstick a creative block is to talk it through with another person. Often, finding literally anyone to talk it through with is enough \u2013 you\u2019ll find you come to the answer(s) you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n
Much like the pen to paper solution, this puts the problem into a different medium and makes your brain run it through in a new way. That alone can be enough to let you work it through.<\/p>\n
Even better (and if the option is open to you), talk to someone in your field \u2013 collaborate and bounce ideas around. Again, this often succeeds because it takes away the pressure of coming up with the finished article. Plus, it introduces a new perspective which can again illuminate other approaches to the issue.<\/p>\n
Music is a massive part of the creative process for me, if only because it stops me getting distracted by everything that\u2019s going on around me.<\/p>\n
If that\u2019s not part of how you work and you\u2019re struggling with an idea, then I recommend trying it.<\/p>\n
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You may find the music you\u2019re listening to needs to be tailored to suit the kind of work you\u2019re doing. For example, when I\u2019m writing I don\u2019t listen to music with lyrics \u2013 I tend to find myself accidentally typing what I\u2019m hearing. If I\u2019m working on a spreadsheet, that isn\u2019t such an issue.<\/p>\n
Hopefully this has given you some ideas for how to overcome your next encounter with creative block.<\/p>\n
These are just some tricks that work for me \u2013 often in tandem. It\u2019s not unusual to see me sitting somewhere other than my desk, headphones in, sketching out ideas on pieces of paper.<\/p>\n
But that might not work for you. Creativity is an individual thing \u2013 what works for me will work for some people and not others. Try the above as a starting point, but don\u2019t hesitate to try your own methods. The only thing that matters is that you find something that works!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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