Developing Your Creative Process

What’s your creative process?

Today on The Ultimate Creative Podcast we’re talking about how to develop your own creative process!

What works for everyone will not work for you. And what works for you now will not work for you this time next year - or maybe even this time next month! I'll share a few different ideas that you can try to squeeze more creative juice out of your brains as we melt into this lovely pre-July heat! It's going to be HUUUUMMIIIIID! WOOT!


We'll be covering:

🤔 Why is creative process important?

😵‍💫 How do you set yourself up for creative success?

🤨 What will your creative process look like?

Why do we want to have a process anyway?

👉 It’s easier to set expectations for clients and for yourself

👉 You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every single time

👉 It can be easier to release self-limiting behaviours and thoughts because we are naturally in the creative flow

Getting into that creative flow state is really what this is all about, and paying attention to how you arrive to this creative flow state is equally important, so that you can remove the barriers to getting there.

If you’re in need of help to launch your podcast, or possibly to revive it, my team can help you out!

1. Check out my new FREE masterclass, 5 simple steps to launch a podcast at https://theultimatecreative.com/simple-steps-to-start-a-podcast/
2. Podcast Production Production - Let us take all the extra stuff off your plate! We just opened up spots for a new offering which includes a more complete content strategy!

Transcript

 good morning and welcoming, welcoming. Welcome I am Emily milling.  This is my podcast, the ultimate creative podcast. And so wherever you are to tuning in from today. Welcome. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:00:49] Listening, checking in today, we are talking about your car. Process. And before I jump into that, I do want to make a quick announcement about my new master class. It is a free master class. I created it for new podcasters, people who are thinking about starting a podcast, it is called five simple steps to start your podcast.

[00:01:08] And I will make sure that there is a link to that.  So why would you need a creative process in the first place? Shouldn't creativity just flow. Shouldn't it just come naturally. And if it doesn't, does that mean that you're like not a creative person?

[00:01:22] Does that mean that you're just like. Not good at making stuff. Maybe it means that you are destined to do things that are more numbers related full psych. Guess what numbers can be creative to so the creative process, like what works well for you? Briefly really poorly for somebody else. However, I do think that there is a lot of value in having a creative process and knowing that you are doing something that works for you that removes some of those barriers, some of those boundaries and limits that we place for ourselves.

[00:01:54] So why would you want to have a creative process in the first place? Well, it's really easy for you to set expectations for yourself and for your clients. Like I know that if I follow my creative process, I'm going to be able to produce a podcast within a certain timeframe. And I know my clients can expect that that is going to come out.

[00:02:13] Within the timeframe that we have set on our schedule, how long it's going to take you to put together a sketch, for example, as like a comedy sketch. So for me, it takes me about a day and a half. Maybe I give myself a week to kind of work through the, the initial idea ideation stages of it, but it takes me about a week.

[00:02:34] And if I hunker down and do it over the weekend, I can get it done pretty quickly. That's not the same for everybody. Everybody's going to have a completely different process and a different set of expectation. But knowing what to expect makes the creative process so much easier because you're not going to be super hard on yourself when you're like, well, I can't do it.

[00:02:53] It's not going to be good enough. It's never going to be perfect. And all of those things that really prevent you from actually accomplishing this creative goal that you have, the other really great thing is that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every single time because, oh my goodness, who wants to repeat the exact same thing over and over?

[00:03:11]You know, the first time you do something creative. I like to think about when I'm putting together a little graphic design template. The first time I do it, it's always super hard for me cause I'm like, well, I just have no idea where to put the thing, but then eventually when I have a couple of templates and I know like the colors that I want to use, it's very easy to interchange them out.

[00:03:30] It's still a creative process for me and I'm producing something that's creative and I could do little different things with the same kind of temper. But I'm not forcing myself to come up with a brand new idea every single time. And that in and of itself can be really limiting to your creativity.

[00:03:46]and speaking of limiting, it can be easier to release some self limiting behaviors and thoughts because we're in a more natural creative flow. I'm getting into that creative flow state is really what it's all about, right? Like it's just paying attention to how you arrive to this creative flow state and getting there more easily so that you are able to let go of the things that are blocking you from being creative And just start doing the actual creative thing. A lot of times, I think when people are like, I'm not a creative person, it's because there are thoughts that are going through your head. There are thoughts. There are beliefs that are like, well, this, this idea that I have, it's actually not that good. And people never really liked my ideas before.

[00:04:32] And maybe it was because you were in the wrong group of people that weren't supporting those creative ideas. And then that kind of trickled into when you were doing your own solo, creative. Right. You still hear those people's messages coming through so loud and clear. So for me, having a creative process is actually like a really great way to move past all of those limits, all of those, those messages, the messages that I hear over and over, like, yeah, you're not good enough for this.

[00:04:59] You shouldn't even go live. You don't even know what you're talking about. If I'm doing it in my process, which I'm about to explain and just. Then I already know, like, you know, I've, I've come through all of these, little rituals that I've created for myself, the little processes. And I know that I have arrived to a place that feels good for me.

[00:05:19] That feels like I can actually, create the thing that I am setting out to. So this is an overview of my creative process.  I like to like list big kind of visionary things of all the things that I want to do. A lot of the time I will do this, like a, just a free flow, kind of like write as much as possible lists and lists and lists.

[00:05:39] So I start with the big picture all the time, every time, because for me it's easier to be like, yeah, One day I'm going to do this. Like one day I'm going to be going live every single Thursday on Instagram, not something I thought I was going to be doing a couple of months ago, but it was an idea that I had.

[00:05:57] And I'm like, what is a creative way that I can make this happen? How can I make this process easier for myself? So I make all of the, the big picture goals and I like to play out, you know, as far in advance as I can. It's usually six to 12 months that I plan this out and then I prioritize. Right. So what are the things that I know will need more work?

[00:06:17] And we were talking before about reinventing the wheel. So my podcast has been out for, well over a year now I have a very good system in place in terms of how to make it happen every single time without, making it. Cumbersome or difficult for me, it's just like a, plug-in play kind of a thing.

[00:06:35] The creative element that comes out of it is in developing my topics and developing the different points that I want to talk about in researching questions for my guests. Like, thinking about that strategically, thinking about that, that's my creative process there. So that doesn't take me as long.

[00:06:52] Whereas, if you are starting a podcast that is going to probably take you a lot longer at this stage. Right? So if I am starting a brand new series on Instagram, where I go live all the time, I need to block off more time for that to happen. And as I get used to it, and as a continues to flow like flow creative food, As it continues to go, then it is, much easier for you to, to actually make it happen.

[00:07:20] And you can kind of see in your calendar, it's only going to take me this amount of time, so I don't have to worry about it so much. So then I block off time in my calendar after I prioritize it. I'm like, I know I need to spend more time on the Instagram lives versus my podcast right now, because that's going to be the bigger project.

[00:07:38] I blocked time off in my calendar so that I know. That I have a specific set amount of time that I can work on it. Again. Some people feel like when they're being creative, when they're working on creative things that having a specific set of time and deadlines isn't as conducive to creativity, they need to be out in the world experiencing different things that doesn't necessarily work for me.

[00:08:02] When I know I have like content that has to come out every single week, because this is what I'm creating for you. Right. This is what you're listening to right now. I need to have that process in place in order for me to get there. But when it's new and like say I was doing something totally different, like floral arrangements, that's a very creative thing that I have never tried.

[00:08:22] I'm going to need to spend a heck of a lot more time getting started on that but by the time I understand the different placements of flowers and what goes well together. It doesn't take as long, right. It's just about that practice and that, dedication and commitment to the craft. Okay. So once it's creativity time, I usually, I get situated with all of the different things I need.

[00:08:44] Do I need a specific chair? Do I need to be sitting on the couch? What is, what is going to help with my mindset? So I'm working on a couple of features, film scripts, right? And that I usually do that sitting at the dining room table. And that happens in the mornings because that is just sort of this habit or this ritual that I've developed for myself.

[00:09:04] That sets me up to understand like I'm in my creative place right now. This is where. The writing happens. This is where this type of work happens.  And then do I have the right music playing? Do I need to turn the music off? Do I have the right snacks?

[00:09:18] It's an extra kind of important. Have I let people know to not disturb me if I really need to be focused on this for awhile? Or is people coming in and out going to be okay and won't disrupt my creative flow. So I get myself organized and in a space where I'm like, I know that I am totally like, like I've set myself up for success.

[00:09:37] I know that I'm going to feel really good and I'm going to have great outcomes because of the physical environment I've set myself up with. from here, what I kind of do is. when you get started, like, let's say we're taking this big doesn't have a process yet kind of project, right? Let's say we're taking, we're starting with one of those. If I have so many different options available to me, like I could write about literally anything that's when the self doubt starts to trickle in.

[00:10:07] That's when the, the messages kind of make you feel. Oh, okay. But what if somebody else has already done this or I don't feel like I'm going to be good enough for that. whatever the case may be, I like to do like the process of elimination when I'm coming up with new ideas, generating ideas for a sketch, for example, like I I've talked about this quite a lot, just like making lots and lots of lists and figuring out like, what do I not want to talk about?

[00:10:33] What do I feel like is not the right direction for me? And then kind of pull it back from. And say to myself, well, I know I want to talk about creativity, but what specifically about creativity. Okay. I don't want to talk about fine art. I know that for sure. So I'm just going to remove that's off the table.

[00:10:51]Maybe I don't want to talk about math because I don't particularly enjoy it and it is not my favorite thing, so I can remove that. And so once you. Get rid of 8,000 different ideas that you want to maybe pursue or explore.

[00:11:08] Once you're able to do that, you can narrow down to just a couple of specific ones, and then you can drill down further into that. Now. I think this process can work. Like I'm explaining this kind of from, from a writing and podcasting point of view, because that's really where I'm playing right now with my creativity.

[00:11:26] But I think this could work for anything, right? Like say I wanted to paint a picture of something. I used to do a lot of acrylic painting many, many years ago, but let's say I want to paint a picture of a sudden flat. or yeah. Okay. Sunflower, but where do I want to paint it? Is it just the sunflower?

[00:11:43] Is it going to have a background? Is it going to be a skeleton holding a sunflower is, you know, it, it, there's so many different things because you have so much creative freedom to do it. The creative freedom can actually be quite limiting sometimes. So yeah. Making sort of rules to play with them. That can be extremely helpful.

[00:12:01] So once you're clear on the outcome, then you can start to create a little plan to get, get yourself there. This is, we're still talking about this as my creative process. This is how I do it. my plan to get there might be for a big project, like a feature-length script. Maybe that's going to be writing five pages a day.

[00:12:20]And that is my little steps every single day, or I will write the complete outline for it. And I know what's supposed to happen at every single point throughout the entire story. Same thing. You could do that for your podcast episodes. Okay. These are the four topics I want to do for this month. And with each topic every day, I'm going to set aside 20 minutes, 15 minutes to list out the bullet points for each of the topics that I want to talk about.

[00:12:46]and then, yeah, and then you can jump in full speed ahead because you know, you have your plan, you have your desired outcome, you know, what the end result is going to be. It's really just about giving yourself the. Freedom with the structure and the process to actually make it happen. Now, again, I will say caveat to all of this of course, is that this is what really works well for me, I find it has given me so much ability to, produce my podcast weekly, to come up with my course podcast, rocket to produce.

[00:13:20] Sketches, basically every single week to make feature films, to write music, to come up with lots of different ideas. What else do we even work on the estates? I don't even know, but like all of the different things, even like, you know, doing some home decor perhaps, So there's that. And then, yeah. And then one more thing that I want to add to this too, is when you are sitting down to do the creative thing of the day, whatever that thing might be.

[00:13:46]There, the little voices may still come back that, right. They might be like, oh, you're still not good enough. And you probably shouldn't do this because you're really not that creative. And you're not very good. I like to do some free writing or some journaling and just like, just whatever comes out, comes out and it there's no self edit.

[00:14:03]Because when you are trying to be a creative, like trying to do something creative, trying to be creative, and you are stuck with this, like these, these voices that are saying, no, it's not good enough. And you're self editing the whole time. That creative spark inside of you is going to cower and hide.

[00:14:20] It's going to be like, well, you know, if even I don't like it, it must not be very good, but it may not be that you don't like it. It may just be that there's, someone's voice telling you that it's not good enough. Right. I think we all kind of hug that we all can relate to that. So free writing is a really good way to get around.

[00:14:38] Singing really loud at the top of your lungs, having a little dance party, doing some sort of creative body movement. I don't know. Maybe you do a lot of spins, i, I don't know. I don't want to throw up. It's not terribly pleasant for me, but, um, if you like spinning and feeling nauseous, like yes, you know, you could try that.

[00:14:55] If that gets rid of the negative, self-talk just be safe. Okay. Be safe, be healthy, please be healthy Okay. Let's talk about now, how you can develop your own creative process. I would say start by knowing that you're not going to get it right on the first try.

[00:15:10] You're just not. So like th this is an exploration. For you, right until you get to the point where you're like, I've got my system in place. I know how I'm going to do this creative thing, specific thing over and over every single week I'm producing my podcast every week. I'm writing my blog every week.

[00:15:26] My social media posts, writing my sketches, all of those different things. If you can get yourself to a place where you're like, I can feel like I know how long it's gonna. That's awesome, but it won't happen on the first go and it probably won't happen on the first several attempts of this thing. So know that it's going to take some time for you to get there.

[00:15:46] It's going to take a little bit longer Bennett normally will, but it will happen. Give yourself a little bit of flexibility and space. but at the same time, like you want to hold yourself accountable to finishing.

[00:15:57]A counter poll accountable to finishing a thing. You know, sometimes I say words and I'm like, what did I just say? What is the word I just said? And then I get kind of lost in that. And here we are back again. Oh, thank you for staying tuned to this. So we were talking about, oh my gosh. Okay. Giving yourself a little bit of space and flexibility.

[00:16:17] Time holding yourself accountable so that you actually get a done. So when you sit down at the beginning of your creative project and you are thinking about all the different things with it, like that's a really good time to be open and free and kind of explore different ideas. But by the end of it, you should give yourself a goal to work towards whether that is.

[00:16:38] I want to have a list of all the things I don't want. Or I want to know specifically what the big idea is going to be the overall theme for the thing, whatever. Just give yourself some sort of goal to get to by the end of it. So that by the end of your creative hour, your creative afternoon, you're not sitting there looking at it like, man, I really, I didn't accomplish anything.

[00:17:00]And this just keeps infusing this idea that you're not creative. It's not that it's just that perhaps. There isn't a direction to move towards and the purpose for this creative time, if you let it just free flow, sometimes that can work. But if it's not working, perhaps try this other method where you are giving yourself kind of a specific thing to work towards to nourish this creative thing that you're working on.

[00:17:27] Right. What else? What else can you do? Trying a few different approaches. Yes. Try a few different approaches so that you can. Really understand, like what you like and what you don't like about different creative processes. Because if you really don't like sitting in a particular chair, you probably don't want to sit in that chair next time.

[00:17:45] If it hurts your back, like I'm finding that with music lately, I'm like, I don't want to sit down at my desk and do it because my desk is where I do my work for my business. And that totally changes my frame of mind. It makes it way harder for me to do creative musical things. Although I keep my piano right here by my desk because I'm like, I must, I must kind of switch that around and there's like a delineation that I need to work on in order to make that happen.

[00:18:12] But, maybe, maybe it's like you try writing music on your balcony, or maybe you try writing your podcast, your bullet points or your topics while you go out for a walk and you just like voice dictate it to your notes. Right. As you're walking so that you, you have that freedom of like brain clarity that you get from going for a walk and being at a nature, but you have something specific that you're working towards and maybe these different approaches will work.

[00:18:43] If something else isn't working. Again, setting up your environment so that you feel good about what you're doing, getting rid of your distractions and having your snacks and having the right equipment and the right gear to do it. Like, oh my gosh. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is. To try to do something creative, try to write music, try to do any sort of artistic thing.

[00:19:05] Try to record a flipping podcast, any of this stuff without having the right equipment. When you have it, it just makes your life so much easier. And it is okay to invest some money. In some stuff, you can't write a song for piano without a piano. And if you can, you're probably in a massive headache situation right now.

[00:19:25] Am I right? I'm right. Probably. Yeah. Okay. So get yourself some gear that makes it easier for you, because if you're constantly trying to fix things and like you're Frankensteining things together and you're like, well, this is sort of like my weird way of going about it, but it like stops you from actually getting anything done ever.

[00:19:44] You need to decide, like, if I want this to be a reality for me, then what do I have to do to make it happen? So once you're in your nice creative environment, that's going to be kind of like a trigger for your mind to be like, okay, it's creativity time. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to do this. And then finally remember find some sort of activity that can open up your, just everything. Just open you up so that you're not hiding yourself away.

[00:20:12] You're not like preventing yourself from. Sharing really great creative ideas just with yourself, by the way. Not like with all of the people, but like just with yourself, you're not self editing. So find that activity, whether it's free writing your dance party, whatever it is you want to do, find something that lets you release your inhibition.

[00:20:33] All right. Let's wrap this little pepper up. So having a plan, having a plan and a system is super helpful, but not for everybody. So you got to figure out what's going to work best for you, and you have to like write it down. Like when you figure out what those things are, write it down so that you remember so that you can get to that creative space, that creative flow faster.

[00:20:53] I think there's a benefit to knowing what will get you into a super creative flow state, because. That will just make the creative work a hell of a lot easier for you. and I do, I mean, I recommend having some creative practices and rituals because I think it's just It's good to practice your creativity.

[00:21:10] Even if it's stuff you're not sharing, even if it's just like, you know, if I'm writing a sketch for example, and I'm like, well, this is kind of garbage, but whatever, it doesn't, it doesn't need to all be perfect all the time. and not in a, not in a self editing way. It's just like, yeah, this idea is, does not make sense.

[00:21:26] I think I'm going to go on another direction, but I took the time to practice. Thing. And then I was loosened up for the next great, amazing idea. I, a lot of my creative ideas end up on the cutting room floor, quote unquote. Yeah. The ones that come out later are generally like the ones that I really love are generally after several attempts at writing a sketch or a couple of attempts at doing a particular thing until I finally got in.

[00:21:56] I'm like, yes. Okay. This feels good to me. Finding your activity that allows you to release yourself imposed limits and restrictions. Find that activity. So if you need help to launch your podcast, if you're feeling creatively blocked, I'd love to help you with that too.

[00:22:12] I've got a couple of really great options for you. My course podcast, rocket of course, is available to you. I've got my free masterclass, five simple steps to start your podcast and that'll help you kind of get the creative. Flowing and going, if you have a podcast and you are looking for some help to make it not so panicky and overwhelming, and you really want it to just be like a creative, fun thing for you again, my team, and I would love to help you with that.

[00:22:39] We've got three different, amazing, awesome packages for production that we can help you with. And all of that information will be linked in the show notes for the podcast episode, that's it. That's it. I am Emily milling as per usual. I will talk to you next week.

[00:22:54] Thank you so much for joining .