The Importance of Personal Projects: 3 Tips to Maintaining Creativity

The Creative’s Dilemma

A few months ago I was packing for a climbing trip. As I was sorting through gear I grabbed my camera and after hesitating for a second, I thought “Do I really want to work on this trip?” I realized then that something terrible was happening. My brain was beginning to associate creativity with work and the daily grind! As the Director of Photography at Venture Visuals, it is essential that I be working creatively. However, just because creativity is a part of my craft doesn’t mean that my zeal for creating should be diminished.

Like most creative professionals, you probably got into your field because you love what you do. Up to the point of pursuing it professionally, you were free to create for yourself. The challenge with working in any creative field ‘professionally’ (whether it’s graphic design, writing, photography, etc.) is this: Now you are suddenly creating for others under tight deadlines with a lot of outside direction. This isn’t a bad thing (I would actually argue that it’s ultimately beneficial for your growth as an artist), but it is different from creating for yourself. This position forces you to be creative out of necessity – and if you’re not careful, being forcefully creative can be mentally exhausting.

Do What You Love, Love What You Do

‘Doing what you love, and loving what you do’ can be paradoxical. When you’re forced to ‘perform’ with your craft, your natural passion and creative guidance can be diluted. Burnout – we’ve all experienced it in one form or another, and that’s exactly what I was beginning to experience that day as I was packing for my climbing trip.

For me this reinforced one very significant idea. An idea that I’ver heard several times expressed in various ways – ‘The importance of personal projects in maintaining creativity’. The concept is this: Personal projects provide for you an outlet to rediscover your love of whatever creative field you are involved in… not as a profession, but as a passion. These personal projects should not be just another thing on your professional to-do list, they should be reserved for free time – that very time you would spend reading a good book, going on a hike, or spending an afternoon at the beach.

Here are 3 tips I apply in my own life to help foster creativity and avoid burnout:

1. Personal Work
2. The 20 % Rule
3. Finding Inspiration

3 Tips To (Continue) Loving What You Do

1. Personal Work

These are personal projects directly related to your creative field outside the confounds of your normal work schedule. For me, this has been nature photography or fine art projects like my FLORI flower photography. This kind of work reminds you of why you got into your particular creative field in the first place. You get back to a place of creating for yourself. In my case, producing imagery that makes me happy simply because I find it aesthetically appealing… and I hope that in the process I create something that others will enjoy as well.

2. The 20% Rule

Originally implemented by 3M in the 50′s, this concept has recently been reinstated by companies like Google and Yahoo. It basically gives employees 20% of their time (during work hours) to do whatever they like. Some of Google’s biggest innovations have come out of this 20% time. If they want to play pool, fine. Go for a bike ride? No problem. Sleep? Well, OK. For us here at Venture Visuals it’s usually side projects or interests. Seth is currently studying software programing. I’m learning guitar. We may go for a surf, a jog, or even play a game of soccer during our work day. The big idea is that this 20% time will lead to passion, creativity, and innovation. The practical application is that you are stimulating your mind to come back to your normal work day refreshed, functioning more productively that you would have otherwise.

3. Fill Your Tank With Inspiration

If we’re always exerting ourselves, at some point we’ll have nothing left to give. Creativity, just like the gas in your car, will run out if you’re not stopping to fill the tank. Personally, I’m always emerged in photography and video so when I need to be refreshed I check out local galleries, design blogs, musicians, and other artists. The night before a shoot I spend time browsing through photo books or viewing a cinematically stunning film. This takes my mind off all the logistics of my shoot and brings me back to a place of thinking visually about the stories I’m about to tell. A wonderful resource for this kind of inspiration is behance.net. There you will find projects from a wide variety of artists in a myriad of creative fields.

Closing Thoughts

I know this article has been primarily tailored to creative careers but many of the principles apply to any line of work… or other aspects of life for that matter. What kind of projects will reignite your passion? What 20% activities will benefit your career or relationships? What will fill your tank and refresh you to be as effective as you can be? Remember, pouring all your time and energy into any one thing doesn’t necessarily guarantee that that something will succeed. How can you be sowing into other areas of you life to come back to that thing you love with a renewed vigor and zeal? Trust me, don’t say “I don’t have the time.” It is worth the investment.