How to Find A Silver Lining & Spark your Creativity during the Pandemic

f you're like the majority of creatives out there, COVID-19 has disrupted your daily routine to the extreme. You're stuck at home, maybe with your kids, with dozens of distractions pulling your attention yet seemingly endless boredom. Maybe it's affecting your mood the most—you find yourself anxious or feeling helpless. However you're experiencing COVID-19, your creativity is probably taking a hit, which is why we want to share five ways you can find a silver lining in all of this — and hopefully jumpstart your design thinking in the process

5 WAYS TO FIND THE SILVER LINING

START A GRATITUDE JOURNAL Or better yet, draw and doodle what you're grateful for. Research shows, a gratitude journal can help you break out of anxiety and move toward a more positive mindset. Getting our anxious minds out of fight-or-flight mode is crucial for getting our creative juices flowing. And people with gratitude practices are often found to be participating in acts of service and problem solving. Maybe it will inspire you to solve a great design problem! Move beyond the big picture items like "health" and "we're all together" to drill down on what makes a difference every day, in each moment. What specifically about that comfy sweater makes you grateful for it? Is it the perfect length? The right fabric? What would make it even better?

REFRAME HOW YOU THINK ABOUT TIME Without our usual routines it's easy to fall into a trap of having an open schedule, yet seemingly never enough concentrated time to get any creative work done. But one silver lining of this pandemic is that it's the perfect time to rethink the structure of our day. Try thinking about time as a currency, to be spent wisely on what's important to you. Begin by taking a time inventory of your day. Where do the hours go? Now make a list of what's important to you—including your creative practice. Compare the two. Does your time inventory reflect your personal priorities? If not, adjust accordingly. To start, can help to set a creativity timer, or select an hour or more each day that you specifically dedicate to creativity.

TAP INTO THE ARTIST'S MIND We are witnessing an unprecedented outpouring of creative energy from talented artists and musicians who are sharing their gifts with the world online, often for free! Each night catch an encore presentation from the Met Opera ’s Live in HD series streaming on their website. Artists like Wendy MacNaughton are sharing free online classes and tutorials. BroadwayHD is currently offering a free 7-day trial for Broadway lovers! Catch a lesson, concert or show and get inspiration from around the world right in your living room.

ADMISSION IS FREE Museums are opening their virtual doors with free video tours and galleries! Take an hour-long tour of the Louvre, no passport needed. Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, the Rijksmuseum and more. Great art and endless inspiration is at your fingertips.

And even though we can't visit them, libraries are more important than ever! Visit your library online and stock up on ebooks and audiobook downloads. See if your library is part of a film-streaming program like Kanopy, where you can watch thousands of classic, foreign, documentary and indie films for free.

SOMETHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN When are we ever able to play catch up? Take stock of what you already have. What cookbooks have you never cooked from? What novels are half-read? What art/sewing/design projects have you started but never completed? There's never been a time like this to catch up on that backlog of New Yorker magazines. Use it up, make it work, and you'll feel better for having crossed just one things off your list.

We Want to Know

What's keeping you going through this pandemic? What helps get your creative juices flowing? Comment here on what works for you, or tips you have for finding the silver lining in this chaotic time.