I've found for about the last eight years that surfing and Frank Sinatra music hold something in common, they both help my brain produce 'ah ha' moments that pull me out of creative ruts.
There's something so soothing about surfing, where your forced to be so 'in the moment', that it seems to help the brain regenerate. As soon as you lose focus and start wondering what's happening next week or thinking about what a nutso that girl in car park was, you get hit in the face by a wave followed shortly by an attack from your board or leash. It's one of those activities where there is no pressure, no one wants to talk to you or demand anything of you (In saying this I am a long boarder at heart... ). It doesn't matter if your a total klutz or the best out there. Until a shark gets involved, you can just be, which is something we so very rarely get to experience.
So when the sharks are circling, (literally, I live in Perth - aka shark attack city) I can get that same kind of lax focus listening to the old crooners when I work, especially my illustration, the music seems to send me into a focused place where nothing much matters except what I'm doing.
It's during these calm no pressure moments that all of a sudden ideas that I've only been able to see in my periphery suddenly jump into the front of my mind and to do a full frontal flash dance. So my recommendation for you, is to find that thing that you can zone out to... while still being productive... don't go using me as an excuse to smoke pot kids... seriously, you'll smell like old meat pie... and just let your mind relax and let it do it's working out at its own pace.
So next time you have creative constipation or your trying to flog out an idea that just won't come, go for a surf and think of Frank (or imagine your mind in nothing but a trench coat hiding behind a bush).
Image found here it's not me... I'm about 302 shades whiter...
