I have updated all of my Creative Work Problems Comics Posts on this blog!
I uploaded them for a while to Instagram and my blog as solo posts. When I did them, I mostly just posted the comic itself, and rarely some more information about it. Well, now I’ve updated them all and added additional help and knowledge for almost every topic. I’ve also updated the name of the post so that it’s no longer named after the comic. Each topic is now more easily identifiable by the title of the post. You can now search the hell out of this site if you are looking for a topic you need help with.
I have listed below every post I have made with these comics in it. So if you’re interested in more information about a topic you see at the bottom of the list, don’t hesitate to go there.
My client work has slowed down a bit this first half of the year. While this is bad for my bank account, it is quite good for my long-term projects. As mentioned in my blog post about big projects, I’m working on a graphic novel. The first (crappy) layout has already been viewed and heavily judged by people, and now I’m already working on the second layout version. Hopefully a less crappy one.
Another project is a webcomic I’m preparing. It’s actually the third webcomic idea I’ve had (the second one became the graphic novel I’m working on), but I’m pretty confident about this version. It has everything: Wacky characters, a silly story, and memes! I won’t go into too much detail for now (stay tuned), but I wanted to talk to you about working on these big projects and the ups and downs that such projects can have. Especially overcoming the downs that you will face as you work on them.
We always see the finished work of creatives. Big projects like paintings, books and movies, and other works. But I think it is important to see the less positive side of these beautiful works. So I’m here to share my personal experiences and insights.
Overcoming Challenges and Finding Solutions
While it’s all fun and games in the beginning, and we’re fueled by motivation and inspiration, as soon as we hit roadblocks (or the realization that this is a lot of work), we get into some trouble. Over time, this can lead to the project being abandoned, but it is important to fight through these hard times.
When faced with these challenges, I realized the importance of seeking support and advice from friends and fellow creatives. Talk to them about your project. It will lead to more (and better) ideas for continuing the project, and the people you talk to can motivate you to keep going. Often a pep talk happens automatically when you discuss your project. Your listeners get excited about your ideas and what you have planned, and this will infect you and push you on when your motivation is low.
In addition, breaking the project down into smaller, more manageable tasks helped me face these big projects with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. By focusing on one step at a time, I was able to make progress, even when it was slow. Leverage digital tools for this purpose: I use a project management system with Notion to break down these big projects into smaller pieces.
Another valuable lesson I learned from these projects was the power of experimentation and embracing failure. Instead of being discouraged by setbacks, I saw them as learning opportunities. The more we fail, the better we become. I discovered new ideas by iterating, exploring different approaches, and allowing myself to make mistakes.
Take Time and Push Through Big Projects
While working on my graphic novel, I faced unforeseen difficulties and moments of self-doubt. I realized that I needed more revisions of my layout, which pushed back my estimated time frame for completion of the project. To stay motivated in those moments, I tried to remind myself that it was perfectly fine to take the time I needed to make the graphic novel as good as possible (not perfect, of course). As long as I keep working on it, I will finish it. Even if it takes me a year longer than I thought it would.
I also take breaks that allow me to recharge and return to the project with renewed energy and focus. In my case, it is also good to find flaws in the visuals and story of my graphic novel and my webcomic. After a break of a few weeks, you can read your script as if you had never written it. You will see if your dialog feels natural or not. Just don’t take a break for too long. A long break will quickly turn into an abandoned project.
Finally, I developed a routine of regular reflection and self-evaluation that helped me push through lows. By evaluating my progress, identifying areas for improvement, and reaffirming my commitment to the project, I could push through moments of doubt and stay committed. Until I finish this behemoth of a project.
Conclusion
In summary, you need to overcome challenges by seeking support from others and breaking tasks into smaller parts. Accept failure and take the time necessary to complete your project. Engage in self-reflection so that you know where you are going. It is essential that you remain persistent and committed in the face of difficulties. Then you will be able to complete your big projects.
By sharing my experiences, I hope to inspire others to take on ambitious projects, understanding that the journey and personal growth are just as important as the finished product. After all, you probably won’t like the finished projects anyway when you’re done.
Since this blog post about is a bit longer, here are three points you’ll learn from this post:
How to overhaul a broken work system from the ground up.
What my old creative process looked like and how it is now.
Why my work system had to change.
Imagine you are in a moving car and suddenly you have to get out. Why, you ask? The reason is that the car you are in cannot change its destination and you have realized that you need to go to another place. After you get out of the moving car, you expect to be able to continue your way at the same speed as before. But this is not the case, because no one can get out of a car and continue at the same pace. No, you fall at high speed on the bare ground (not fatal in this scenario), get up again after a short confusion (as you do after making mistakes), and look for a new way to get to your new destination.
This analogy applies to our own work system, as I had to experience it myself a few months ago.
For a long time, I took little time to work out most of my illustrations. 3 to 8 hours, sometimes more, rarely less. Over the past year, that has now changed. I’ve been focusing on longer stories now which I’ve always wanted to do. Most of the time I put them aside for these smaller illustrations I could produce almost daily. The problem now was that longer stories take … well … a long time. Doesn’t sound so bad at first, you might think. But that led to a change in my creative process, which meant I had to change my whole work system. To go back to the car analogy: For me, that change meant getting out of a car that was going pretty fast. And I didn’t even notice it.
A work process like an addiction
My brain learned an addiction. And it was those 3 to 8 hours of me doing an illustration. As an example, here’s how the process for my Monster Monday used to be:
I started sketching in the morning, developing ideas. A short time later, the addiction sets in: I have a good idea! The first highlight of the day. Once I have an idea, the first sketch is not far away. Then another sketch, with the light table. And then maybe another, until the drawing is ready for ink. Everything is traced with ink and most of the work is done, another highlight in my creative process. At this point, I’m in an extreme flow. Scanning, correcting the lines, and coloring the illustration is very easy after that. Because I’m in the zone and I like to get things done.
And ta-da: the illustration is done! I like it, I love it and my body is full of dopamine. Give me more!
The sense of accomplishment at each completed step in my old creative process motivated me to keep going. So was the urge to finish the whole illustration. However, when I decided to work on longer stories with correspondingly longer deadlines, this source of motivation was no longer present. The fire that had fueled me in the past was extinguished because the longer time frame for completing each step no longer provided the same sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. This change in my process resulted in a loss of motivation, and I no longer had food for the fire that fueled me.
So I had to change my entire work system. Find a new vehicle to take me to my new destination. I was mentally stressed and lost the fun in my creative work. Extreme pressure on myself led to weeks where I could barely work.
I had to find a way to make the work fun (and addicting) again. How I could be more comfortable with this new process of drawing. To do this, I had to adapt my work system.
Difference between a work system and the creative process.
The work system is a system in which you perform your creative work with the help of information, technology, and other resources. This includes work techniques (e.g., time stopping, To-Do’s, or time blocking).
The creative process is how you do your creative work. With critical thinking, you solve problems in creative ways. Simple as that. Your work system helps you do this work effectively. The vehicle of your creative process.
A step-by-step guide to an overhaul of your work system
As long as you can work, it is helpful to tinker with your work system from time to time. Regular reflection helps keep your system fresh and flexible. Where can something still be adjusted? Where are there difficulties in the work?
Big changes that involve a whole new approach or process however may require a major overhaul of your system. As was the case for me. And here’s the step-by-step guide for that:
Realize that your system needs to be adjusted due to a change (In my case, this realization took months).
Examine analytically how you worked. Check your creative process. What motivated you in the old process? What steps were the highlights?
How does it differ from your current creative process? Can things from the old process be incorporated? Can you transform some of it?
What can be a new motivator in the new work system? What can also be fun? Do your research and try to incorporate work techniques that you may not have needed before that.
All these questions will give you insights about a new work system.
Write down the new system you have made so it stays in your mind and you can make adjustments to it.
Use the new system and think about how you can adapt it every day.
Do a weekly review. What went well last week and what didn’t? Where can adjustments still be made?
With the help of this list, you can find out what your new vehicle will look like, which will take you to a different place than usual.
What helped me
What changes have I made? I’m still working on it and changing it a bit each week, but what has helped so far are the following changes:
I have stopped tracking time while at work, which I used to do for over two years. I’m currently having trouble working through “my hours” (without client work) and the number at the end of the week stresses me out too much. Therefore keeping track of time is counterproductive right now.
I now use Todoist (not sponsored (sadly)), which miraculously keeps me very motivated. Normally, I always wrote down my to-do lists on paper. With this app, I can intuitively enter my tasks with a date and then …. simply forget about them. This is incredibly helpful and calms me down. You can’t “forget” tasks till they are due if you are writing them on paper.
In addition, I write down the most important thing I want to get done during each day of the week. With time tracking, I knew I wanted X working hours every day, and I knew at the end of the week if I had accomplished that. With this change, I can measure if I did the most important task every day.
I’m trying to bring more gamification to my creative work. I no longer have my daily highlights to fuel my fire. Gamification brings me the motivation I need as I slowly approach the highlights. They’re still there, just much further apart.
I started with time-blocking. Every morning I write on a piece of paper what blocks of work I do throughout the day. I’ve found that it gets me into the flow incredibly quickly and makes me less distracted.
Weekly reviews on Monday morning. This is one of the best things I’ve started doing in the last few months. It’s crazy how much I forget, what is good for me. The weekly review reminds me to repeat good things and to do bad things less. It also gives me a kind of benchmark for how the week went. It motivates me and pushes me forward.
I try to do at least 4 hours of deep work every day. I usually listen to podcasts or live streams while I draw. But I’ve noticed that I get distracted very quickly these days. So I’ve changed that, and the background noise can come back in after I’ve done 4 hours of undisturbed deep work. I even consider this a reward.
Conclusion
Every work system is different. Maybe you just need to adjust it a little, or maybe, like me, you want to get out of a moving vehicle to get to a different destination. If that’s the case, I hope I was able to help you notice it and got you some ideas on how to approach it.
Would you like to hear from me? Well, I have a funny newsletter. Currently twice a year. I try to send it out at least four times a year (I’m working on this goal). In this newsletter, I give you tips and maybe plug something (if I have something good to show). Sign up here:
This blog post brings you four of my latest Creative Work Problems comics and a tip for each topic.
The first one is about ideas and how they can take a little longer than we want them to. The second is about to-do lists and how overwhelming they can become. The third one is about motivation and how it comes and goes quickly. The last one is about how we like things we do, and after a while, we realize what a stupid thing we did (which is good).
Good Ideas Take Time
Often we have more bad ideas than good ones. This can sometimes make us feel like we don’t have any good ideas. So we often give up too soon. What helps is not to lose hope and to work on the ideas again for a while. Make variations, brainstorm again, or maybe try a completely new approach. If we keep at it, then the good idea will be there at some point, which we can then improve little by little. An idea doesn’t come to us in a perfect form, but it has the potential to become great. We just have to keep working on it.
Too many planned tasks can be disastrous. 🥵 I hear these little empty boxes screaming at me when I can’t tick them off. Let’s stop this so we can sleep better. We always want to do more than we can do. But in the end, our day only lasts 24 hours. And we have to divide the hours cleverly without overwhelming ourselves.
Here are some tips that you can use to better deal with to-do lists.
Plan enough (buffer) time. Most of the time, your tasks last longer than you think.
Never write more on your to-do list than you can do in one day. If you have to do so many things, then something is going wrong with your general planning.
Do the most important task first.
Have flexible things planned that don’t necessarily have to be done today. You’ll feel better if you still can’t finish them.
Some people only put three tasks on their daily to-do list. Much less overwhelming than an endless list.
Put your To-Do List where you can see it. I have a notebook just for my lists. It always stays open on my desk while I’m working.
If you have problems doing anything at all, it is often helpful to have a To-Do list with just one task. It can be anything. For example, watering flowers. Gradually you can create more tasks when you feel like it.
If you follow some of these tips, it will be easier “to do” your to-do list! And your list won’t annihilate you with empty little boxes. 🔥
When Motivation Arrives
Motivation comes and goes. Sometimes it fades faster than you would like. Or in this case, faster out the window. 👉 💥
I can give you the following advice: Don’t wait until you are motivated to work on your creative project. Don’t wait for the muse that may never come. Start with the thing you don’t have the motivation for yet. It is tricky, but sometimes it helps to spend ten minutes working on the task you’re not motivated to do. The magic is that you can get inspired by sitting down and working. And the inspiration will also quickly give you the motivation you are lacking. Ten minutes can then quickly turn into an hour or more. Try this when you’re waiting for your motivation to appear (or when you see it jumping out of the window).
Funnily enough, I had no motivation to finish this little comic. But I kept sitting down and working on it for a few minutes. And lo and behold, something came out in the end.
Some Good Work At Last …?
We sometimes have the feeling that we can’t produce anything good. But then the moment comes when we create something we like so much that we think it can’t get any better.
Yet things change after a while.
We look back on it years later and realize what we created back then is just crap. That’s a good sign. It means we have grown in our passion and made progress in our creative life. Those are the moments we need to remember! When we think we’re not moving forward. A thing in the past that we can grab onto when we are in creative despair.
But even if you don’t have those moments where you think you’ve made something great, you can still see how you’ve gotten better.
That’s why I advise you to look at your old work to see how much progress you have made. And use this as a weapon of creativity if you need it.
Those four comics are one of the last ones of my “Creative Work Problems” comic. You will find the new ones I do on Instagram if I start them again. If you have ideas for comic topics you can reach me here.
I bet you didn’t know what motivational posters are capable of doing! It is a physical reminder that supports us in remembering helpful things. Often we forget these helpful things in our hectic daily lives. That’s what the Motivation Posters are for. To remind us of what we can’t remember all the time!
That’s why I made a few of these posters and will also fill this article with new posters in the future. Ultimately, there should be something here for everyone to print out yourself. Some motivation posters will tell you that you can do it. Others do something about your procrastination.
If you have ideas or feedback for posters, please write to me. I would love to hear what posters you need at your creative workplace!
Tip: If you place the poster in another spot after some time, the effect of this poster will be much higher! If it stays in one place, you will not “see” this motivational poster anymore because you will get used to it. If you put it in another location, you will notice it more again and your motivation will be back!
The high res PDF download is at the bottom of the page!
