How To Stay Inspired When Working Remotely

As a marketer, the feeling is all too familiar. It’s already past noon, and your goal to get done with your work to-do list seems insurmountable. Back at the office, you could already have gotten several ideas by sketching up things on the conference room whiteboard or picking a colleague’s mind. Now, your home feels like a creativity desert, without an oasis of ideas in sight.

Sustaining productivity is probably one of the biggest challenges of working from home. One of the underlying issues that causes such lax is the lack of creativity. This is especially the case when you were used to drawing your inspiration from your colleagues, or just the general workplace environment.

Why Creativity Dries Up When Working Remotely

Nowadays, you might struggle for weeks with an idea for a digital marketing campaign that used to take days. This is because the odds of encountering a new idea are far much lesser than they were in the world before the pandemic. When you had access to the entire world beyond your home’s four walls, it was almost natural to pick up pebbles of inspiration. In fact, some ideas just came subconsciously. From the fresh graffiti you might have seen on your way to the office, to the new podcast you may have overheard a barista gush about as you waited for your coffee, pebbles were scattered all over. Now and then, one of them would unleash a wave of creativity.

Then came the pandemic-forced isolation, and with it, limited access to your organic sources of inspiration. Out of four remote managers, one reports that the work-from-home model has caused a dip in their team’s creativity. This seriously affects business performance, as marketing is currently one of the key drivers of profitability.

Read on to learn more about our top tips & tricks for staying motivated and inspired in a remote workplace.

Surround Yourself with Daily Inspiration

As a marketing professional, you need to rejuvenate your creativity every now and then, regardless of where you work from. There are tons of online magazines and other websites that display the projects of some of the most creative professionals. In case you are stuck, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite sources of inspiration:

1. My Modern Met: This site aspires to create a positive culture and share creativity by highlighting some of the notable acts and works of a variety of creatives. Each day My Modern Met offers a replenishing feast of creativity.

2. This Works: This Works spotlights the stories behind the designers, photographers, illustrators, artists, and all other creatives whose work appear on Wetransfer.com.

3. It’s Nice That: This website is a leading platform for creatives all over the world. It especially offers more content related to advertising and graphic design.

4. Creative Review: If you’re searching for inspiration on visual culture, design, and advertising, Creative Review is the place to go. Creative review offers opinion, analysis, and celebrates “work that matters”.

5. DesignBoom: Provides plenty of content on design including everything from architecture, technology to interiors.

Challenge Your Creativity

The web is a great place to play around and get inspired by various forms of art, ranging from photography and illustration to graphic design or crafts. Consider, for instance, some of our favorite creative sites:

1. Aisle One: If you are looking for inspiration in the fields of typography or graphic design, consider visiting this resource. You will especially enjoy its simplistic but thoughtful content.

2. Abduzeedo: This incredibly popular and successful design blog supports other creatives with tons of inspiration and tutorials.

3. I Love Typography: As the name suggests, this blog is about all things typography. You will find in it plenty of fonts and other inspiring content to get your creative juices flowing.

4. Shillington Design Blog: The amazing humans at Shillington, a graphic design college whose campuses are located in Australia, the UK, and America, created this blog so you can never lack inspiring content and industry insights.

5. MIRADOR: Say What Studio’s image hunting work, MIRADOR puts out some of the most inspiring content pieces. The parent company is known for its mastery of graphic design and visiting this blog allows you to access most of their projects.

Integrate Thought-Provoking Moments into Your Day

If you have not yet caught the podcast bug, it’s time you did. The advantage that podcasts have is that they can deliver tons of content easily and in an enjoyable audio format. You can also incorporate them into other activities like washing dishes, laundry, driving to get some groceries, folding clothes, or even exercising. Don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered:

1. The Creative Boom Podcast. While it’s relatively new, The Creative Boom Podcast has already amassed a huge audience courtesy of the featured guests. Some of the notable ones include world-leading creatives like Malcolm Garrett, Jon Burgerman, Ian Anderson, Rankin, and Anthony Burrill. You will also enjoy host Katy Powen’s journalistic focus and approachable, personal flair.

2. Creative Pep Talk. You will enjoy listening to this podcast’s host, Andy J. Pizza, as he delivers interviews and monologues that touch on fresh marketing tactics and creative performance hacks.

3. Creative Rebels. Adam Brazier and David Speed, the co-founders of Graffiti Life and Parlour Tattoo, are the hosts of this podcast. They bring in creatives who have ditched the nine-to-five and found success in their own ways.

4. The Unmistakable Creative Podcast. When you feel that mental block, it’s never a bad idea to listen to the Unmistakable Creatives Podcast. Their touching and thought-provoking stories will leave you feeling inspired.

5. Never Not Creative. This podcast is hosted by an entire community of creatives. Its podcasters look to better the creative space by engaging in lively and inspiring creative discussions.