In these Creative Work Problems comics, I give you tips on three topics. The first is about reflection and how it helps us get the creative juice out of ourselves. The second is about flow, and how we can use it to work better and even lose track of time. The last comic in this series is about endurance and how we need to train it to become better and stronger artists and designers.
Reflect
Even if you can work: Reflecting on the things you are doing in your creative process from time to time is always a good idea! You will see problems that you did not even anticipate.
How you can do it:
- Schedule weekly time for reflection
- Set aside time in your schedule for weekly reflection. This will establish a routine and ensure that you regularly evaluate your creative process and learn from your experiences. I do this every Monday morning for an hour.
- Set aside time in your schedule for weekly reflection. This will establish a routine and ensure that you regularly evaluate your creative process and learn from your experiences. I do this every Monday morning for an hour.
- Identify challenges
- Focus on distinguishing between challenges you anticipated and those that caught you off guard. Understanding unexpected issues is important to develop strategies for addressing them in future projects.
- Focus on distinguishing between challenges you anticipated and those that caught you off guard. Understanding unexpected issues is important to develop strategies for addressing them in future projects.
- Set goals for improvement
- Based on your reflections, set clear, actionable goals for improvement. These goals should be specific to areas where you have identified challenges or opportunities for improvement.
Get In The Flow
Flow is my addiction and the reason why I do all this stuff. It’s so nice when you’re in the flow and I’m always very relaxed in the evening after my creative work when I’ve been in the flow all day. Ask the questions in panel three to get better at flow!
To do it you need to answer these questions if you have problems getting in the flow:
- Do I know how to succeed in this task? Do I know the goal?
- Do I know how to get immediate feedback?
- Do I have the right amount of challenge?
If you want to know more about flow I recommend you to read this book.
Endure
You have to endure something now and then to make it easier later. That’s why it’s often helpful to get out of your comfort zone and do things you need to overcome.
So how do you overcome it? Just do it! Yes, I know. You heard it somewhere already. But this is the key to endurance. There is a time when your emotions are overwhelming you. Don’t stop! Keep going! You will learn to endure it. It is like exercising: It hurts at the moment, but over time you will get better.
Those three comics are the last of the first series of my “Creative Work Problems” comic. You will find the new ones I do on Instagram. The second series is already three comics in! I will post them soon here too. Stay tuned!
This post was last updated on 2 September 2024