Conceptualizing at Gunpoint

How many times have you had someone telling you to come up with something different? Countless number of times. Great. To top it off they’ve had the audacity to – the horror of horrors; give you a timeframe to come up with something different?!

Acceptable? Well, not so much. Eight out of ten times your inner voice shouts out “I need more time”.  To be fair, it is probably true. Ideas don’t just hatch overnight.  In spite of that, unfortunately, in this industry of client pitches, deadlines and stressed bosses, lazing around until inspiration strikes us, is a luxury we cannot afford.

As tempted as you might be to back up your need of extra time with Darwin’s theory of evolution (it took him ages!) – lets be real. What you’ve been asked for needs to be done and it needs to be done within the timeframe. You have 5 minutes to nurse your wounded creative ego before you brush it all aside and get down to business.

Regardless of whether you are harnessing your creativity to come up with ideas for a product launch, ad campaign or film script; mental blocks are inevitable. Creating thoughts that turn into value is a strenuous task in itself but believe it or not, limitations have proved to enhance your thinking capabilities.

Contrary to popular beliefs, you can work within a time frame. Here are three amendments to the unwritten law of ‘Conceptualization’:

You can work within a timeframe – I

There’s absolutely no room for endless procrastination. When you are on a strict time schedule, that is all the time you have to wow everyone. This constant nagging in the back of your head is exactly what will keep you on the rails and bring you back when you venture off into lalaland.

You can work within a timeframe – II

Amongst many other demons of creating, one of the most vicious is second guessing. With a time constraint, you leave little or no room for evaluating and then reevaluating your ideas. As soon as that sliver of doubt starts squeezing its way through, throw it right out and rely on your gut feeling.\

You can work within a timeframe – III

You’re never going to know your limits unless you push yourself to them. The challenge of meeting the deadline will not only get you to push your boundaries but will also leave you with a sense of achievement.

Embrace the positive aspects of time limitations. No more grumbling, simply put your mind to it and just go with it!