When you are a nomad, or a traveling location independent professional, where you locate yourself while you are traveling can be, and sometimes needs to be, more than just an interesting place.
Being a creative person is hard work, especially when your business depends on your being creative for extended periods of times and over an unending stream of projects. Add to this the effort required to keep up-to-date with constantly changing technologies, keep an eye on changing trends and client demands, as well as re-establishing yourself in new surroundings every few months…..and the potential for creativity blocks of various lengths and intensities seems almost inevitable.
What do you do when you find that the creative flow isn’t flowing as easily as it should?
One thing that you could do is to look at what creative individuals look for in a community or a city that they plan to settle into, and then plan to spend some time in those locations. Creative individuals, according to Richard Florida, look for communities or cities that offer “…abundant high-quality amenities and experiences, an openness to diversity of all kinds, and above all else the opportunity to validate their identities as creative people.” (The Rise of The Creative Class, page 218). For example, in Toronto there are a couple of ‘creative districts’, Queen Street West, Liberty Village, St. Lawrence Market area, The Beaches, and a few others, where creatives and creative entrepreneurs congregate.
This is great for creatives who want to settle into an area, but what does a creative that just wants to spend a few months in the area actually get out of being in a creative community instead of any other community?
For starters, you get to be surrounded by creative people and that energy that creative people seem to generate. Spending time in creative communities is like a professional attending a professional development conference. These professionals generally come away from professional development conferences feeling recharged and excited after having spent some time learning about what is new and upcoming in their field, discussing tends and opportunities with cohorts, commiserating with people who understand their field and speak their jargon.
Similar kinds of experiences can be gained when creative people spend time in creative communities. For example, if you are a graphic designer, look for an area in a city where a lot of graphic design firms are located. Spending a couple of hours a day in the local coffee shops, or pubs, or other gathering places, listening to conversations can give you the ‘water cooler conversations’ that you miss by working solo – information on new trends; gossip about clients and their demands – that kind of stuff. I always come away from spending time in the creative areas of Toronto feeling really creative – as if I had spent several days at a professional conference.
If you are an outgoing extrovert, then starting conversations with other creatives could result in potential business partners, potential clients, and a potentially expanded tribe. At the very least this contact with other creatives should re-validate your identity as a creative person.
How do you cope with keeping up with changing technologies, changing trends, and changing client needs while traveling – and maintain both your creativity and your sanity??
TTFN
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