As voice actors we work in a creative career. Trying to fill roles. Be characters. Tell stories. It’s creativity all day every day. It can be exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.
When the creative juices are flowing, I feel inspired. Writing this blog, creating video tips, and sharing content on Facebook certainly requires a lot of creativity. So does creating courses and training materials to help others grow their voice over business. Mix in a couple voice over jobs throughout the day, and it’s not uncommon for my creative tank to run on empty.
5 Ways To Jumpstart Your Creativity Today
When it’s time to spark some ideas or refill the creativity tank, I’ve got a few different go to strategies.
Get Outdoors: My apartment is across the street from a park with a trail that follows alongside a river. Convenient! When I’m “not feeling it”, I’ll head out for a walk along the river. A little sunshine and fresh air always seems to help refresh and renew me.
Listen to a Podcast: Listening to other people share their ideas and inspiration is an amazing way to jumpstart my own ideas. I’ve got a few go-to podcasts I turn to. In particular, I love listening to Amy Porterfield, Pat Flynn, Tim Ferriss and John Lee Dumas.
Tap A Nap: This may sound ridiculous, but let me tell you something. I’m a BIG believer in the healing powers of a power nap. I’m talking about a 15 or 20 minute snooze, tops. When I’m beating my head against the wall because I’m stuck on something and can’t seem to get any momentum, sometimes I’ll park myself in my comfy “thinking chair” and doze off for 15 minutes. When I wake up, I feel like a new man. Invigorated and ready to face the challenge with a fresh perspective.
Review Your Greatest Hits: I keep a list I call my “Greatest Hits List.” It’s exactly as it sounds. On it, I’ll write down successes and accomplishments worth remembering. A really great job I booked. A big earnings day or week. A trip I took. The day I took delivery of my new truck. You get the idea. The good stuff. When I’m not feeling the creativity, I’ll review my Greatest Hits as a reminder to myself. I’ve accomplished all these things, and I did it by working in a creative field. Getting excited about what I’ve achieved and what I’m working to achieve can often make a spark.
Take One Step: Are you familiar with the term Analysis Paralysis? When we’ve got an idea we want to get started on, but we don’t until we figure out every last detail, that’s analysis paralysis. We get so caught up in planning and perfection that we never actually get started on what we want to do. Sometimes, I just need to shut myself up and take one step. That single step unlocks everything.
Refill The Tank
Just like we need sleep each night to re-energize for the next day, we can’t expect to continually draw on our creative tanks without ever taking time to top them back up again.
These work for me. What works for you? Comment below.
