1. Read before you fall asleep
This is a classic subconscious-employing trick, used a lot for when you really need to study and remember material. If you want to think more about your artwork (or anything), read about it just before you fall asleep. Studies show that your brain remembers more and thinks subconsciously about the information you process just before going into REM sleep. You might even dream about what you read, were thinking about or were doing just before sleep. If you’re reading a book on creativity you really want to digest, this is a great strategy to help recall and your own creative process.
2. Take notes whenever ideas come
Take notes. Lots of notes. No matter what time of day (or night). Give keeping a notepad and pen beside your bed, and always carry one in your handbag or pocket. Don’t be afraid to take notes in public, in elevators, or anywhere the inspiration strikes. Some strategies you could try are making lists of future or potential artwork or doing lose free-form sketches of half-baked ideas for new works. Taking notes can be valuable in their offhanded, indiscriminate format — sometimes they’re not important or playful, and sometimes they can be tiny seeds of gold.
3. Make conversations about your artwork a priority
Ditch the guilt around talking about yourself too much, and think about how much time you spend talking out loud about your artwork. It can really help to regularly make the effort to speak about what you’ve been working on. There’s a learning curve that comes out of forcing yourself to name things. Set up catch-ups or phone calls with others artists to check in with each other regarding your work. Hopefully these conversations can happen with family and friends or co-workers, and can be used as an artistic compass to check you are on course, on the whole, with making work.
If you can name the thing you’re doing, and explain why and describe it well to others, it’s a good sign you’re focused and really engaged with what you’re doing.
4. Use commute time
Use the time you’re driving, on the train, or commuting to and from work to your advantage. Read, listen, think, make lists, or mentally check off your progress. I know artists who use commute time to meditate and reflect on themselves, which is another interesting strategy to try. Using commute time means that when you do sit down to create work, you’ve often done the heavy thinking and are ready to dive into the practical, hands-on work. It is an obvious one, but it’s been tried and tested.
5. Don’t underestimate thinking time
When you’re not making artwork, make time to simply think. It seems like many artworks are made after months (or even years) of living inside your own head. Whether you’re at work, walking pets, or doing the dishes, using this time to think hard about your artwork can pay off greatly. You can often surprise yourself with how much you can progress you can make if you clock the thinking hours. Realizing that this was a “thing” was one of the most helpful and insightful lessons I learned as an artist. Thinking time is time well spent.
Try some of these ideas out and see what works (or doesn’t work) for you.
總有那么些日子我們無(wú)法完成預(yù)期的任務(wù)。事情越來(lái)越多,工作越來(lái)越累,里里外外忙忙碌碌,藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作也越發(fā)變得艱難。我來(lái)給你支幾招,教你如何優(yōu)化時(shí)間管理,進(jìn)行思索、斟酌與考慮,從而強(qiáng)化創(chuàng)新思維。我們用于揣摩與深思的時(shí)間嚴(yán)重匱乏,希望下列小貼士對(duì)你進(jìn)行時(shí)間規(guī)劃有所幫助。
1. 睡前閱讀
這一調(diào)動(dòng)潛意識(shí)的傳統(tǒng)方法多用于資料的學(xué)習(xí)與記憶。若要深入思考藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作(或者任何事情),那么就在睡前進(jìn)行閱讀吧。研究表明,人類(lèi)大腦在進(jìn)入快速眼球運(yùn)動(dòng)睡眠(Rapid Eye Movement)之前,對(duì)所要處理的信息消化吸收得最快。你在睡前所讀、所想、所做的事情甚至可能出現(xiàn)在夢(mèng)境中。假如你希望通透理解書(shū)本內(nèi)容,那么睡前閱讀便是溫故知新的好方法。
2、記錄閃現(xiàn)的靈光
一旦靈光閃現(xiàn),無(wú)論白天黑夜,趕緊記錄下來(lái)。床邊常備紙與筆,拎包與口袋里也務(wù)必備有本子。別羞于在大庭廣眾下做記錄,無(wú)論是在電梯里還是任何靈感出現(xiàn)的地方??晒﹪L試的方法包括將計(jì)劃或可能進(jìn)行的創(chuàng)作以及新作品的大概輪廓或大致思路列成清單。即便是當(dāng)下隨意記錄的內(nèi)容,其價(jià)值也不容忽視——有時(shí)看來(lái)用處不大的內(nèi)容,在另一些時(shí)刻則大有燎原之勢(shì)。
3、三句話不離本行
不要愧于過(guò)多談?wù)撟约海胂肽阍摶ǘ嗌贂r(shí)間來(lái)“高談闊論”吧。如此一來(lái)有助于重復(fù)提起創(chuàng)作進(jìn)展。當(dāng)我們迫使自己說(shuō)出某些事情時(shí),便產(chǎn)生一條學(xué)習(xí)曲線。就工作進(jìn)度與同行藝術(shù)家保持聯(lián)系或通話。與家人,朋友及同事之間的對(duì)話有望成為藝術(shù)指南,從整體上為你的創(chuàng)作進(jìn)行導(dǎo)航。
假如你說(shuō)得出手頭上的工作,并能夠?qū)⑵淝宄亟忉尳o別人聽(tīng),那么恭喜你,你已經(jīng)足夠?qū)W⒂谀愕膭?chuàng)作了。
4.爭(zhēng)分奪秒勤思考
充分利用開(kāi)車(chē),乘車(chē)與通勤時(shí)間。閱讀,聆聽(tīng),思考,記錄與自省。就我所知,一些藝術(shù)家往往利用通勤時(shí)間進(jìn)行反思與自省,你不妨也試試看。這樣做就意味著當(dāng)正式工作開(kāi)始的時(shí)候,經(jīng)過(guò)深思熟慮的你能夠立馬進(jìn)入狀態(tài),投入實(shí)際工作。這種方法顯而易見(jiàn),但還是經(jīng)過(guò)了反復(fù)多次試驗(yàn)。
5、思考創(chuàng)造價(jià)值
不創(chuàng)作的時(shí)候就思考吧。藝術(shù)作品往往要?dú)v經(jīng)數(shù)月乃至數(shù)年的潛心鉆研。利用工作,遛狗,洗碗的時(shí)間認(rèn)真思考藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作,你將大有收獲。記錄下思考時(shí)間,再細(xì)數(shù)取得的進(jìn)步,恐怕連自己都會(huì)震驚。要知道思考對(duì)于藝術(shù)家而言是受益無(wú)窮的必修課。把時(shí)間用于思考絕對(duì)虧不了。
以上小貼士是否對(duì)你有效,試試就知道。