7 tips to battle Brain Block Syndrome
Sometimes we get stuck. Lets face it, we are all mere human, and can only work accordingly. From time to time, we can sit down raring to do work, but it just won’t come out. As creative’s can get a creative block, regardless of whether you are a writer, photographer or designer.
Ever had the feeling or ability to sit down and just excel at what you do? The articles write themselves, the designs are so easy to craft and look brill. That is when our brain is in super productivity mode, a combination of the right amount of creative ability and skill. These merge to create a person who is on top form and cant seem to do wrong…
Until, one day, you walk into your office, Happy as Larry. You turn the light on, flick the PC (or Mac) switch, and grab a coffee. And then… nothing. You write a paragraph. It makes no sense. You hit the Delete button furiously. Several rewrites follow. Or, you mock up a new layout. Nothing looks right. It doesn’t seem to gel, the colors, the layout, nothing at all! You scramble furiously through layers and styles in Photoshop (or Fireworks 
). Where did it all go wrong?
If I could tell you the answer to that, I would either be very clever (and likely hold a degree in braino-physcology) or would never encounter this issue myself. But I do. I cant tell you how to avoid it all together, but I can tell you how to prevent it, and what steps to take if you suddenly come down with a case of the Brain Blocks, or as I like to refer to it, Brain Block Syndrome [BBS]
1. Read it aloud
If you blog a lot, perhaps sometimes lengthy articles, you may notice that you can get writers block. A good method to combat CBBS (Creative Brain Block Syndrome) would be to print out whatever you have, turn off the PC (or Mac) and get comfy with a cup of coffee (or tea) and read what you’ve written. Try to evaluate it honestly, to make sure it makes sense, and that it isn’t utter drivel. When you read things aloud, you quickly spot any grammatical or logical errors, and get a better feel for the flow of the blog post (or article e.t.c). Likewise, copywriters and pro-writers can still find reading aloud useful, even in a world of computers and electrics.
2. Step away with the computer
If you own a laptop computer, then get out of your house / office / workplace. A change of surroundings can sharpen your focus and inspire you to work (particularly if you go to Starbucks, where’s there’s coffee and Internet access - what a perfect combo). Other places you might go could include: a park, a library or even just into the back garden (yard), where the birds are chirping and you can hear a gentle rustle of leaves. What a great way to work. Take advantage of it.
3. Pull out the paper
That’s right, even in the super techno-computer wizardry age we live in, paper and pen still rule. Working with paper is great, as it allows you to be very creative, and work super quick. You don’t have to bother with formatting as a writer, or 1000’s of layers in Photoshop. Another brilliant ‘feature’ of paper is that you can rip bits off, color it in and stick it to your wall. You can then use your drawings and scribbles as references for your latest design or masterpiece. Combine paper with a scanner / photocopier for the ability to create different color schemes and combos. Highlight bits of a paragraph you don’t like or feel need to be emphasized more. Just you, your brain and your pencil. Now that’s a divine workflow.
4. Have a break, have a Kit Kat
Sometimes you can get a serious case of CBBS. Don’t worry. It might seem the opposite thing to what you feel inclined to do, but have a break. There’s no point sitting trying to work through it if you cannot shake it. Instead, use that time to have a little break. Relax a bit. Grab a biscuit and watch some telly, or have a bath. Try sitting in the garden, going for a walk or having a conversation with a good friend. Don’t fret over it, just take a break. This will help you feel more relaxed, and you’ll find it easier to get the thoughts that are in your head, find them and express them through your chosen medium.
Worrying about it will only make you more stressed, and when we get stressed, the brain becomes tighter and harder unwind. When we are relaxed there is a natural transgression from the brain to paper, or computer.
5. Check up on your peers
It can be fun and a useful productivity tool to check up on your peers. These are the people who work in the same industry as you, and they quite often blog about a lot of great subjects. Catching up with what they are saying & advising could do you the world of good, and will confirm to you how up to date you are.
6. Do something else.
If you’re at work, or simply don’t have much of an option what to do, then do something you can do. That might be to catch up on your emails, process all your outstanding voice mails, or even just tidy your desk. Doing something will give you a boost, and will help you feel as though you’ve achieved something. That way, when you sit down again to do some proper work, you know that is the only thing you have to concentrate on.
Knowing you had a million other things to do could have been the reason you had BBS in the first place. Subconsciously it’s fretting over all the other things there are to do, and causing you to have little creativity. So, finish up anything outstanding, and try again.
If you want to find out more about getting things done, and to find out how to focus your attention, I’d like to suggest the absolutely fantastic book “Getting Things Done: How to Achieve Stress-free Productivity” by David Allen.
7. Do a ‘personal project’
Sometimes certain clients can stifle creativity somewhat. Now, that is never the client’s fault, however some clients require certain specifications to be carried out, which you must adhere to.
So, if your feeling a bit blocked up, create your own personal project. It could be anything. For example, you might:
- Build an application or service to sell
- Create a blog
- Design a personal site
- Write a book
- Create a photo book
- Write a poetry book
- Create an organization or club, for your peers, like a web design meet-up perhaps
- Go to networking events
- Start your own networking events
- Make a pod cast
- Create tutorials / screen casts
- Create a community
- Buy an old car and renovate it
- Take up painting
You can see it can be very diverse. Just something to give your brain a break, or to generate enthusiasm about writing, designing or whatever else it is you might do.
I do you hope you recover quickly from BBS. If you have any ideas you can add to the list, just pop them in the comments, and I’ll edit the post.
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If you ever get stuck, or have the feeling of not been able to design / write then you are not alone. We give 7 tips to combat BBS (Brain Block Syndrome) and its counterpart CBBS (Creative Brain Block Syndrome)" title="LinkedIn">
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