November 19th 2020

How to be creative when you're feeling existential by Evelyn

1. Try something new or different. Do something different from the creative/artistic endeavor that you are known for or that is your job. Play! Doodling, drawing, painting, etc. Emphasis on doing something in the real world with your hands, or seeing new sights. Taking in new sensory information. When you do the same thing too much it can mess with your perception of reality.

"Doing something that is very much the opposite of what I have to do on deadline helps me foster a sense of creativity because I'm playing. I'm using a part of my brain that I don't use all the time."

2. Don't follow direction immediately. Part of this feeling of existential dread is the feeling that everything's been done before. That can eff you up in your mind because that's worrying about other people. What would you do if you didn't know how anyone else did something? Creativity is problem solving, try to problem solve with no one's help, with no expectation of knowing whether it's possible. No consideration for whether someone else did it first or did it better, or did it faster, or did it younger, did it with less money, did it with more money, less time, more time.