CHRISTINE LIU: My job title literally
says that I have to come up with new ideas on the reg.
It's a super fun and satisfying challenge, for sure,
but I need to confess, there are days
where I am afraid there are no new ideas in my brain.
I get hit hard with writer's block,
or I feel totally trapped in a creative rut.
I want to think of something brilliant.
Maybe the idea is about how I can't think of an idea.
No, no, that's lazy.
Or it's kind of meta!
And feeling blocked isn't just a problem for the, quote unquote,
creative types.
Every job requires a healthy dose
of fresh thinking and new ideas, and it does not feel
good to hit that mental wall.
How do I break out of a creative rut
to get those new ideas flowing again?
And how do I avoid getting into these ruts in the first place?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Before we get started, this episode
is brought to you by Microsoft.
Microsoft's mission is to empower every person
and organization on the planet to achieve more.
But it's nothing without the people behind it.
Watch and read some of the stories of the people behind
the mission at Aka.ms/Ascend.
[GROANS]
SONJA RASULA: I can't come up with any words that
make any sense!
CHRISTINE LIU: That's Sonja Rasula.
She's the CEO and founder of Unique Markets.
They host pop-up markets all over the country.
In her job, she comes up with creative solutions,
big and small, on a daily basis.
SONJA RASULA: People are so scared
of looking like they don't know what they're doing--
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
--or like they're not happy or satisfied.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
When you then have a creative rut, you're like,
there's something wrong with me.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Maybe I don't know what I'm doing.
[LOUD DRAMATIC MUSIC]
You start to ask yourself these questions.
But I think it's totally normal to have a creative rut.
We are not supposed to do the same thing
for our entire lives.
For me, I really do probably experience some sort
of rut once a month at least.
CHRISTINE LIU: I was looking for a cure
to really prevent these type of creative ruts,
but that doesn't seem like it exists.
So they're just going to happen.
SONJA RASULA: If you address that regularly,
then what doesn't happen is what I
think a lot of people kind of result in, which is like--
once or twice a year, they have a major crisis.
And then what ends up happening is, they burn out,
or they quit, or they just don't perform well.
So I think it's important to recognize
that not being amazing at your job
all the time is totally normal, and you just
have to reset yourself.
CHRISTINE LIU: Sonja has some tips
for how to deal with those smaller creative ruts
so that you hopefully avoid the big creative crises down
the line.
All right, Sonja.
My creative fate is in your hands.
Let's do this.
SONJA RASULA: The first thing that I always like to do
is just reset, step away from my computer--
and literally, this means physically stepping away
from the computer and putting on a song, like a hype song,
and just dancing it out.
And my employees know that I do this.
Sometimes I get them to do it.
Often I don't, but I try.
But I just think you need to restart the blood in your body.
You need to get moving.
You really do dance like no one's watching,
and you just let loose.
[AIR HORNS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
MAN: Rock and roll, all day long!
CHRISTINE LIU: OK, so the dancing tip
is really great to get you over those smaller creative ruts
like hitting a deadline or making decisions
during the day or whatever.
Now, the next tip is how to deal with those larger
creative crises.
SONJA RASULA: Create a list of why you love your job.
Why are you passionate about what you do?
What makes you a badass at what you do?
What are those skills that make you unique
and make you really good at your job?
As you are creating that list, what happens is,
you start to recognize and you start
to remember all the things you love about what you do.
And as you do that, you start to realize--
oh, the things that I'm complaining about
are the reasons why maybe I'm in a creative rut are not
a big deal at all.
[SCRIBBLING SOUND]
CHRISTINE LIU: Here's my list.
And I feel pretty good.
I think I'm good at inspiring and mentoring
and setting others up for success.
So I love that I have creative agency and relative autonomy
over my work, finding humor in most situations.
I will look back on this list and remember,
I'm pretty cool, to me.
Honestly, with the list, I will say it felt weird.
It's like writing a love letter to yourself.
It feels self-indulgent.
Doing something that introspective
is quite personal.
I should try it again, but not for you guys.
SONJA RASULA: This is probably my favorite,
because it's less like chore-like than the list.
And it's a little more long term than the dance moments.
Do something that is absolutely not related to work--
cannot be related to work in any way--
and something that is creative.
So you may have never taken a pottery class.
Take a pottery class.
Or maybe you've never sewn clothing before.
You're going to sit in your apartment,
and you're going to sew clothing.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
CHRISTINE LIU: My activity that I chose to do was gardening
and starting the season off right.
So that meant weeding a whole bunch
and planting a whole bunch and just making
sure the plants are happy, et cetera.
I am not a great gardener.
I am so hot and sweaty.
SONJA RASULA: You can be good or bad at it.
It doesn't matter.
That's not the point.
The point is that you're just having fun, using your hands,
doing something creative.
CHRISTINE LIU: Yeah!
Get it, plants!
SONJA RASULA: You almost have to force these resets.
Otherwise, they don't happen, and then no wonder everyone
is kind of in a creative rut and also depressed, also anxious.
CHRISTINE LIU: So doing something like gardening
is super fun, but it's also the opposite
of popping a pill to get your headache away or something.
It's not going to solve or cure a rut.
But I think doing something outside of work
is extremely healthy, and over the long term,
creates the fertile environment--
see what I'm doing here-- for new ideas,
for taking a step back, seeing things in a different way.
So after trying Sonja's tips, I loved them, actually.
Because there are all these things that I
do in pockets of my life.
But to have allowance and to be like,
oh, yeah, there's value in it--
that's awesome.
So I'll try out anything.
Those tips-- I love them.
I suggest you try them too.
So those are Sonja's tips, and I love them.
But everyone's different, and I'm
sure you guys have all sorts of ways
that you get out of your creative ruts.
So I am all ears.
I want to hear what you do, what you've tried, what works.
Bring it on.
Please leave them in the comments.
I'd love to read them.
If you're still watching, one, thank you.
But two, I'm really curious--
what do you want me to explore?
What problems do you have at work?
I love to solve them.
Please leave a comment.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And if you have any other ideas, throw them my way.
All right.
Peace out.