Creativity vs. Stress

Running a creative business can be a challenge, especially when times are tight. It’s doubly hard when you’ve got actual creatives running the show, as stress and lack of time to create really weigh on a creative soul, compounding the issue. Things have been hard for me as a business owner lately; too much to do, a general feeling of not having control of my own destiny and lots of stress. This week I did some soul searching and some planning on how to, win or lose, get back to enjoying my work. The answers I found were fairly simple, immediately effective and right in front of me.

Creating a new cycle

For me the stress of business and stress in my personal life combine to form a whirlwind of doom and gloom. This isn’t good for me and it’s not good for my employees. Or anyone else who comes in contact with me. I read an article the other day, Surviving the Down Economy by Thomas Cox, that very accurately described much of what I’ve been feeling. It’s written to focus on economic stress, which is part of my problem, but can apply to any stress, which was helpful to me. I’m not going to sugar coat it; I’ve got stress and uncertainty in just about every aspect of my life right now, so it’s no wonder I hit just about every bullet on his list.

When self-evaluating I also realized that I was really bothered by my inability to do things I love to do; write, design, shoot photos, etc. I just didn’t have the energy! I thought about it and realized these things are related. I took Thomas’ advice, as lack of control is a big part of my stress, and listed out things I do have control of. The list was short, but I did have “Personal Projects” on my list. I wondered, would throwing some control and energy at those things, even though they might not directly solve my other problems, help me at least feel better?

I sat down the other night and made a plan to work on my existing projects and also came up with a few new ideas. I rolled all that thinking into a plan that I intend to spend some time on each day of the week:

• Write at least one post for each of The Bottom Line sites each week.
• Work on designing a new site for myself.
• Learn and practice shooting photos with my D80 to get comfortable before SXSW.
• Take some classes (I signed up for two cooking classes!)
• Read The Creative License by Danny Gregory again. This book was a great inspiration to me last time I had a creative crisis.
• Spend at least an hour each work day either reading, writing, drawing or taking photos and not worry about if anything concrete comes of that.

I got started right away with this and my mood, outlook and stress level almost instantly seemed improved. What’s more I began to have ideas that could be applied to my business and personal problems, thus giving me back some control, or feeling of control there. I was a great feeling. The last two days, since I’ve done this, have had me feeling more like myself than I’ve felt in months and while the stress isn’t gone, I’m much more positive about everything.

The Bottom Line

Creatives need to create and in times of stress that creative energy can be in short supply. It’s important to plan and work on being creative, especially when stress and lack of control begin to rule your thoughts. A simple plan and some dedicated creative energy (even when you’re just not feeling it) toward just about anything will help flex those creative muscles and free up your mind, body and soul in many ways.