Comments on: Getting Unstuck

By: Katie

Katie — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 20:14:31 +0000

Hal – I know a whole bunch of folks who need to do this..(wink!!). I’d love to chat further.
Great writings folks….my best place…running 3.5 miles or on the stairmaster;my best work has come as a result of changing the scenerio….

By: Michael Wagner

Michael Wagner — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 18:08:46 +0000

Just discovered your site via Tim Johnson. Glad I did.

The poem is super.

Maria Girsch of http://www.CreativityCentral.com says that being creative (unstuck) is an act of remembering…remembering what you were like as a child and acting that way in your adult world.

Looking forward to reading more of your postings.

By: Timothy

Timothy — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:52:35 +0000

You are so right, Lucia. The airport (while difficult) is the absolute best place to mine inspiration. Our post-9-11 world has made this especially challenging, but Starbucks (or any popular coffee haunt) works in a pinch.

Even a change in reading material can help. In managing creative projects, we get “stuck” reading the same material hoping for inspiration. Sometimes I’ll read to my children (hit one of my best inspirations from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”), I’ll read a b-grade mind-candy novel, I’ll read the comics… anything to give my mind a new perspective.

By: Lucia

Lucia — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 05:18:33 +0000

I own a web design company and as the project manager of the company projects it is amazing at times how stuck I can feel…

Jumping between client managment, company managment and the creative process at times makes me want to scream.

But lately I found a solution… much like Tim said … a change of perspective, a change of location, a change…
Now when I feel like I just can’t seem to tactle a solution for the business side of things… I go to the local starbucks to work, or the library.. anywhere that isn’t my familiar surroundings, and when I have a creative solution I need to fix… I walk an walk and walk. It is amazing how walking while listening to my ipod sends a jolt of creative energy …

I am encourage this with my employees too.. everyone has their thing that helps inspire them… and I want them to serach for theirs.

When times are despearte and I really need to, I find the airport a gold mine for ideas, but a nightmare to get to.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 16:14:04 +0000

Though it’s not likely to help, I see a strong parallel with the philosophical writings of Nietzsche: the transition from child, to camel, to lion and back to child: from the innocent, simple, curious beginner to the adept full of preconceptions (”baggage”), to the lion who ferociously casts off the baggage, and finally back to the child.

Sounds like you’re trying to find your inner lion. Good luck.

By: Hal

Hal — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 14:29:08 +0000

Thanks Tim. I’ll get The Creative Habit. And thanks also to those who wrote emails of encouragement.

By: Timothy Johnson

Timothy Johnson — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 03:50:43 +0000

I had this problem last fall while completing the writing on my second book. I had the worst case of writer’s block I’ve ever experienced. Three months without being able to write a word.

Two resources I relied on: The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp (awesome book that I recommend to everybody – I used it as a resource last fall when I taught Creativity for Business to MBA students and they loved it). There should be some valuable nuggets in their to help you rethink your book.

The second (and equally valuable) activity was a simple change of habit. I went to the mall on a weekday evening and just sat and people watched. It really had nothing to do with my book, but just sitting and observing people’s actions, conversations, and behaviors provided me with the creative well-priming that I needed to pump out the remainder of my book.

It’s now in editing, so we’ll see how much the editors chew it up. Good luck!