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Antoinette Seaman |
Inspiration
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Creativity is the result of how you think. Practicing the habits of creative thinking allows you
to break the barrier of whats achievable. Better freelancing skills, better clients, and the
ability to get through tough situations are just a few of the things creative thinking brings.
According to a global study by Adobe, only 1 in 4 believe they are living up to their creative
potential. Thats a sad fact due to whats truly possible. But whats the good news here? Well,
freelancers know how important the strive for creativity is. Plus we have the opportunity to
create all day long.
We may sometimes be interrupted by invoicing a client or getting organized, but creative
minds always find time to be creative.
Whether youre stuck in a creative rut or you want to maximize your creative thinking
potential, here are the habits of creative thinkers to learn from.
Here it is.
Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than
you. You can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people
can use. Steve Jobs
Well said Mr. Jobs. Well said.
Creative minds dont let others achievements affect their own creation of something
remarkable. If you think you cant do something write a novel, code a website, or make a
product you believe people will need think again. Think about the fact that everything you
see right now was created by someone. Did they have some sort of superpower?
No. They were a creative thinker who practiced the habits of creative thinking truly and
passionately.
Developing creativity means learning something new every day. Go to the best place to learn
online to find new tutorials and articles posted daily on topics relating to your freelancing
niche. Take time between working on projects and running errands to acquire a new skill. This
could also mean experimenting with new techniques for the stuff youre already working on.
Heres an example for you. My friend is a photographer and has just recently starting drawing.
Every day he makes sure to draw something a sketch, a concept, a character, anything. What
he told me is that the more he draws, the more interesting his art becomes. New techniques
and approaches to drawing lines helps expand the creativity of his work. You know what
happened next? His photography became more interesting too.
Creativity happens when you make the effort to learn or try something new every day. Pretty
soon it will become a habit. Have good creative habits and your mind will be happy.
HTML and CSS you learned not only how to technically create vertical text with CSS but it
opened your mind into the possibilities of using vertical text for web design work.
The connection between ideas doesnt happen unless you explore a little. Start enhancing your
natural gift with the skills that complement it. Writers can learn about photography, designers
can learn about development, and developers can learn about design. Clients will thank you
for your ability to see above and beyond. You may even spot something they werent aware of
and offer your advice.
When it comes to being a freelancer though, we have to sometimes tone down our creative
mind from getting too wild. But dont do this right away. If a client asks for a logo with very
specific requests, dont immediately follow those rules.
First, design with your initial instincts. What could you do with their concept that they hadnt
asked for? Then tone it down to meet their requirements. Perhaps you could even include this
concept design in your preliminary draft. It may even inspire your client to think of something
they would want to include in the design. But if youre going to do this, make sure most of the
work you present them follows what they asked for. The point is to keep the door to creativity
open. When you write, dont stop to edit. This is when you loose all the good thoughts that
prompted you to open a blank document in the first place.
Create now and edit after. Who knows where your creative mind will go?
Two minds are better than one. Collaboration is key to developing ideas and taking them
places you hadnt thought of before. This habit goes hand in hand with connecting the dots.
Its like picking fruit from a tree that grows apples and pears and bananas and mangos all on
the same branch, instead of picking an apple from an apple tree.
Sometimes an idea flourishes when you talk about it with a friend, co-worker, or partner.
Other times, you (and the people youre talking with) end up with a long list of new ideas that
strayed so far from the original thought. This is good. This allows you to connect the dots
between all those ideas which, really, has more substance and depth than a singular concept.
Imagine a blank whiteboard on the wall. How many creative ideas could you write down in 5
minutes? What would that whiteboard look like? Now think of 5 creatively-minded
individuals (you included) writing down all their creative ideas in the same 5 minutes. You get
a different image in your head about what that whiteboard looks like now, dont you? Theres
more to explore and expand upon. Its like picking fruit from a tree that grows apples and
pears and bananas and mangos all on the same branch, instead of picking an apple from an
apple tree. The variety of possible creative connections gets you drooling.
Freelancers have the great advantage of collaborating with other freelancers. Not only does
the work of individual freelancers improve that way, but the entire value of freelancing in
general goes up because weve just helped each other reach prime creative levels. People
choosing to go the freelance hiring route will feel more secure in their decisions knowing that
what they can expect from the freelancing community is a high standard for creativity and
effective results.