The Writer’s Coin

It’s fairly easy to stay within your budget after you’ve figured out where your money goes, how much you have to spend, and where you can cut back. Getting into a routine makes it simple: I’ll do this on Monday, that on Tuesday, and this for the rest of the days, spending X amount on each day. For me, it means I eat turkey and cheese sandwiches every day for lunch. I also have a yogurt and banana for breakfast every day. I know that on Sunday, when I buy groceries, I’ll spend a certain amount on these things and I’ll be within the confines of my budget.

A routine can be your friend. Lots of people tell me, “But that’s boring.” Yes, it is. I can deal with the boring part but the bigger problem is that boring breeds boring and for someone looking to get into a creative field like advertising, it’s the kiss of death. So breaking out of that routine is a boon to the creative part of my brain.

Last night I went to see a free preview (nod to the budget) of I Am Legend (it was OK—the highlight was a 10 minute trailer for the new Batman movie). I could literally feel my brain coming out of the tracks it had made for itself over the past few weeks. Then I felt the rush of ideas coming. Fresh, new ideas. Only days before I had sat in front of a blank sheet of paper straining to come up with good ideas. Now, after watching a zombie movie loosely based on a vampire book, riding a bus I never take to get home, the ideas started to come.

Part of this is the whole idea is setting your brain up to be creative. Part of it is that you are either creative or you aren’t. But you can be the most creative person in the room and it won’t help your unconscious if you lead a boring life that is the same day after day after day. This is the whole reason I have a section on this blog called Outside the Box and why I talk a lot about playing Boggle with the brain. It’s all about giving your unconscious a chance to produce great ideas because it’s something that can’t be turned on and off at will.

Pick Me: Breaking into Advertising and Staying There, the book I’m reading right now, has a chapter on dealing with mental block and one of their suggestions is to distance yourself: “Probably the best way to get fresh ideas is to not look for them.”

So tackle the “problem” or idea early on, before you have to have it “done” or turned in. Then go see a movie, go to a museum, go do something you don’t normally do and then give your unconscious mind some time to brew. More often than not, if you don’t let routines get you in a rut, your unconscious will bail you out.

It works, trust me.

Tags: Creativity, I am legend, routine