I’ve come to think of my creative cycle as its own living, breathing entity. It has its own natural course. Many times when I’m feeling frustrated or stuck, I realize it’s because I’m fighting the process instead of letting it guide me.
Here’s an outline of how it seems to work — and how I most effectively make it work for me.
The Sunbath
This is the incubation period.
Open, deep thinking. Visualization. Daydreaming. Doodling.
The main challenge here is feeling lazy and unproductive. It’s easy to mistake this stage for procrastination and rush forward.
When you give yourself enough time to just passively dwell on a problem (sleep on it - sometimes literally), it can actually make the whole cycle smoother and faster overall.
So get comfy, grab a snack, and let your brain do its thing.
The Big Jump
Once your idea begins to solidify, it’s go time.
This is just like diving into water. It seems counterintuitive, but if the work ahead feels intimidating, it’s best to jump in headfirst. Pick a day to start and get as much done as possible before taking a break.
It feels great to make quick progress. “This isn’t so bad,” you might think. “This is easier than I originally thought. I’ll be done in no time.”
The Cave
The optimism is soon replaced by doubt.
Welcome to the cave - the longest stretch of my creative cycle.
During this stage, the excitement fades. Everywhere you turn is another obstacle. You keep pushing forward in the dark. You can’t help but think, “Maybe I’m going in the wrong direction?”
This is the hardest part of the cycle. Sometimes it makes you want to cry, or worse, quit. But without the like all masochists - I mean, creative people - it also makes me feel the mo
That being said, here is the realization that made the most positive impact on my creative process:
Sometimes it is better to give up - temporarily. If I get to the point where I feel completely exhausted and lost, in my opinion, it’s not worth continuing. Stop and start over. Even if I have to rebuild the same project from scratch five times, it’s way less painful than one endless road (and usually gets better - and faster! - every time).
- Realization of all the flaws
- How much work it’s going to be to finish
- Is this even possible?
- Was this the wrong direction completely?
- Important: Do you keep going or turn back around and start over?
- Sometimes it’s important to realize that this tunnel is too long. You don’t want to stay in the dark too long or you lose your sense of direction.
- Better to start over. Actually saves time to start over.
Seeing the light
Cathartic completion
Hibernation