29 Ways to Stay Creative—Part One

29 Ways to Stay Creative—Part One
by Jen White
I LOVE to see things that take BIG thoughts and break them down for LITTLE people like me. In this new series of blogposts, I am wanting to share and discuss an infographic I found called 29 Ways to Stay Creative by Islam Abudaoud. Because there is SO much fantastic information packed into one little graphic, I’m planning to split my series into five parts. Here is part one.

#1 Make Lists
How organized are your photos or scrapbooking flow? Do you have a document or spreadsheet to help you keep track of what photos you’ve edited, scrapped, or plan to scrap? Making a list will ease the feeling of being overwhelmed every time you sit down to create. Here are a few ideas:
- List topics you need to create scrapbook pages about.
- List photos that are edited and ready to be scrapped.
- List scrapbooking techniques or lessons you’d like to try.
Here’s a snapshot of my personal list that keeps me moving forward and organized. You can learn more about getting organized in Linda Sattgast’s Get Organized Now! class.
#2 Carry a Notebook Everywhere
I don’t personally do this, but I know many people who do. Have you ever been in the grocery store or waiting on a slow train and all of a sudden, your brain comes up with a GREAT idea for a group of photos? If you don’t write it down straight away, chances are the great thought will be gone for good. Try this:
- Jot down your idea or draw a picture on a scrap piece of paper.
- No paper? Send yourself an email or text from your phone. (I do this WAY more often than I care to admit!)
- Use down time to make lists (see #1)!
#3 Free Writing
Do you have trouble journaling on your scrapbook pages? The words “free writing” might be just what you need to hear. Here’s a thought:
- Type in the first thing that comes to your mind. Babble if you need to.
- Make bullets of information. Sentences are not even necessary!
- Cover the who, what, where, when, and why of an event.

#4 Get Away from the Computer
I find it kind of funny how I agree with the concept of getting away from the computer. After all, our computers are essential for our craft. But the truth is, sometimes you just need to walk away. Try this the next time you are feeling frustrated or blank in the head:
- Walk out to the mailbox or around the block.
- Sit beside a big, sunny window and drink something refreshing.
- Read a book or magazine for a short time.
- Take the dogs out for a quick ride around the block. 😀

#5 Quit Beating Yourself Up
What this means to me is: stop comparing myself to someone else. There is always going to be someone more creative than I am—in my eyes. But, creativity is not a competition or race. Here are things to avoid:
- Avoid the negative talk.
- Embrace your individuality.
- Avoid comparison.
How about you? Give tips 1–5 a try and see what a difference they will make in your creative outlook this week.
29 Ways to Stay Creative for Digital Scrapbookers
part one | part two | part three | part four |Â part five
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Author: Jen White | [email protected]
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Thank you for these wonderful tips!
These are all great tips! 🙂 Thx for sharing them!
Love these ideas. I needed to hear about the “free writing” because I do struggle a lot with journaling. Also about not comparing myself to all the great digital scrappers at Digital Scrappers. I am me and my pages reflect who I am.
Thanks Jen
I think getting away from the computer is more about how you spend your time on the computer. If you are crafting and designing a page, selecting a font, shopping for the perfect kit or template for the project you are working on, then fine. But if you spend more time browsing the galleries of other crafters, or following blogs, or browsing kits just cause they are on sale, then you have a problem with too much input/inspiration, but not enough output/completed projects. This is my big issue. The internet can be a wonderful, but time sucking thing. If I crafted even half the amount of time I surf looking at what other people crafted, I’d be caught up on my scrapbooking!
These are great suggestions and I agree somewhat about getting away from the computer especially if what you’re doing on the computer is checking FB, reading email, browsing Amazon, watching another YouTube video, etc…Sooo, to combat all that I wanted to get a FREE 8×8 book from Shutterfly this last week. I set a goal for myself and I did an entire scrapbook of my mom and my cruise (15 days) through the Panama Canal in just over a week. Mind you that is with working, cooking, cleaning, etc. so I felt it was pretty good. BUT I was in front of the computer a LOT!! In other words I had a hard deadline.
Congrats on getting your book done! I saw the Shutterfly freebie advertised and couldn’t pull it off.
Great points, Jen. You can really get glued to the computer and it is sometimes really hard to get “unglued.” I love this series. Looking forward to the next tip.
Great topic. We can all use some of these ideas at one time or another. Thanks for sharing your list
Thanks for starting the topic. I always feel that i am struggling with the information overload on the internet. Setting goals has helped me and I’m also considering and internet diet plan;).
Hmm 2015, and today this post feels as though it saved my sanity today! Everything I tried to do with my scrapping today came to naught after hours of frustration. In the end I binned my stubbornness, had a nap and came back to the blog and it spoke to me!! I followed your tutorial on typing on a selection Jan 19, made the card and feel that I’m not as stupid as I was telling myself. Coincidence? I think not. I read these posts when they were originally posted, but they meant more to me today than they did back then – if my memory is correct. I’m glad they’re still here.
Celebrating with you, Margaret!
Thanks. I laughed at the idea of giving your dog a ride around the block, even shared that one with my husband! 🙂