One of the most important things for a creative is to maintain is their creativity. Since being creative is a creative’s occupation, losing that creative streak also means losing income. This is where social media comes in.

While a little social media can provide inspiration (think of all those wonderful ideas on Pinterest!), too much social media can stifle creativity.

Social Media Takes Up Time You Could Be Creating

For starters social media takes up a lot of time. A LOT of time. Most people don’t realize how much time they spend absentmindedly scrolling through their Facebook or Instagram feed. (Maybe this is why I still have a flip phone 😉 ) Ironically, these are usually the same people who tell you they wish they had more time to be creative when they find out you create for a living.

Well, like any other job, you actually have to set aside time to do it. And running through a social feed is not creating. In fact, spending too much time on social media actually kills creativity because it numbs your mind. The term “mindless scrolling” is often used to describe how people go down through their social feed, but “mind-numbingly” would be a more accurate term.

Social Media Numbs Your Creativity

Doing things “mindlessly” can actually help creativity. (Think repetitive, monotonous takes like scrubbing the floor). These mindless tasks help your creativity flourish because you’re physically doing something you don’t need to focus on, and therefore freeing your mind up for artistic inspiration.

Gazing at say, your Twitter feed for hours, however, has the opposite effect. It squelches creativity because your senses are being overloaded with constant bombardment of photo shopped images, clickbaity news stories, and updates from thousands of people you don’t actually have an emotional connection to. This constant information overload has been shown to overwhelm and numb people’s senses.

If your mind reacted to everything in your social feed, it would probably have a breakdown. So to protect itself, it kind of goes into “sleeper” mode, where you’re just numbly taking in the feed. Unfortunately that means the creative part of your brain is shut off as well.

Limit Your Social Media Time

So what to do? Take breaks from social media. I know that’s sometimes easier said than done. In my case, I’m blessed with a natural “immunity” to social media. I literally get exhausted if I spent too much time on it (and for me too much time us usually anything over 10 minutes, hahaha), but I know some people are really addicted to it. If that sounds like you, start with something simple like limiting your scrolling time to a set amount of time each day.

If you have trouble following a set amount of time, try actually setting your timer. There’s actually probably a build in alarm on that phone you’re scrolling through your feed with. When the timer goes off stop scrolling.

Unplug From Social Media Completely

If you have trouble resisting that urge to scroll, try actually turning off your phone. When your phone isn’t powered on 24/7 it’s not going to be as easy to check that social feed every hour. If it’s something you need to leave on, then at least try leaving it in another room. Don’t carry it around with you everywhere, or you’ll be distracted by it.

And however you choose to limit your social media time, make sure to have power-out day as well. Pick at least one day a week to totally unplug from social media, email, and anything else internet related. I usually block out Saturday in my schedule and don’t even turn on the computer all day (and since I have aforementioned flip phone, I don’t have to worry about that either 😉 )Nothing brings your creative senses back like an entire day of being disconnected from the information superhighway. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll find unplugging is also extremely invigorating!

Written by Amber Reifsteck, The Woodland Elf

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