It takes more than just avoiding half-assery to produce something of value. Not only do you have to give your all in personal effort, enthusiasm, and accountability but you must also respect the creative process.

Few, if any, great ideas were brought to life easy. Research and revisions, incubation and inspiration, set-backs and failures are unavoidable. If you think you can shirk the process or there are hidden shortcuts no one’s discovered, you’re going to struggle more often than not.

Sometimes we are so close to something that we can’t see anything. Obvious solutions, problems, and opportunities become needles in the hay stack. If you’re struggling with a project, walk away. Take a breather. Come back later for another look.

Still stuck?

Get a ladder. Look at it from a bird’s point of view. Or lay down. What do sprouting daisies see? It’s easy to get stuck in our own bubbles yet surprisingly difficult to burst out, which is just another reason to carry a sharp object on your persons at all times.

Ask for help. Get verification. Seek opinions and critiques, but be mindful of who you ask. Look to others whose work you admire. Know your work can always get better, so don’t sweat a harsh critique. Though easy to forget, it’s not personal. Learn what you can from it, and let the rest slide off your back.

If you stood on a ladder, sent out an SOS, gave the creative process its due and your concept, project, or idea is still not working, it might be time to dig a hole. You’ll think fondly of what you two shared, but there’s no shame in letting go of something that just isn’t working.

Time slips away. Suddenly, you look up and three months have passed yet that project still isn’t finished. Instead of binge-watching the latest episodes of whatever new show pops up in your Netflix browser, make time to create.

Get up an hour earlier, stay up a little late, and scrounge up some spare minutes in between. Opt to stay in when friends ask you to go out for a third night in a row. Pass on Pinterest. Forget about Facebook. Ignore Instagram, and toss Twitter to the side. Decline the urge to slip into sloth. Creativity is about choices. When it comes to how much time you spend creating, choose wisely.

Some of the most creative people are also some of the most organized. Being organized means different things to different people. Some like to label and file. Others prefer to stack. Whatever the method, being organized is about knowing what you have and where to find it.

Timing plays an important role in the creativity process. What wasn't a good idea five years ago might be better idea today, so label and store computer files and handwritten notes where you can find them again.

Being organized also helps reduce the amount of time and energy you waste looking for something, and it can be a life-saver when juggling multiple deadlines.

Ideas and inspiration are everywhere, if you're paying attention. Gobble up as much experience as you can.

Read the news. Pay attention to pop culture. Be aware of the world around you and dive into to worlds that are different than yours.

Be passionate about life and inspiration and ideas will present themselves to you at every turn.

You get better ideas when you're sober. Sure alcohol loosens you up, gives you strength to muster courage, and makes you think you're funnier than you are, but it's rarely the answer to coming up with ideas.

Alos, to have creative ideas you have to be thinking or producing or collaborating. It's a major time suck. You don't have time for the hangover.

If you do happen to have ideas you remember after indulging in a creative drinking session, verify they still make sense when you're sober.

The creative adult is the child who survived, someone once said. Someone else said we're all born creative, but the trick is to stay creative as we grow up. Or maybe it was artist. The point is, a major component for creativity is channeling your inner child.

Being organized, making deadlines, paying bills, and staying sober are all adult responsibilities that suck our creative will to live. That's why no matter how old you are, do like Katy Perry and build a fort out of sheets.

Set up a Nerf commercial in your backyard. Run through the sprinkler. Build a sandcastle. Sled down a hill. Dress up for Trick-or-Treating. Toss a grape and catch it in your mouth. Just try it. You'll be surprised by how much you've missed playing.

When it comes to journaling, concepting, problem-solving, and coming up with ideas try not to let your pen hover while you stare aimlessly at a blank page until it's time to go make lunch. Instead, put pen to page and write down anyway.

"But the idea's silly." Write it down. "No, it's off task." Write it down. "That could never happen." Who cares, write it down. Get all the sparks, cliches, and random thoughts out of your head to make room for the better ones pinned down underneath all that crap.

Negativity kills creativity, and negativity is everywhere. You can't control what others sling at you, but you can control what you let fester inside yourself.

When negative thoughts about your skills, ideas, and potential enter your mind squash them like cockroaches.

Don't confuse constructive criticism for negativity. You can always do better. Constructive criticism isn't a cockroach. It's a caterpillar with the potential to become a butterfly.

The negativity that kills our creativity is the "I can't do that" thoughts that sneak into our heads when we're scared of failing or looking silly. When your mind is full of can't, you won't.

You've got to practice a lot and fail a ton before you get good at anything. Ira Glass says to get to the great work you have to fight through the shitty. Dominic Wilcox has a similar opinion.

Half-assery is lazy and leads to mediocrity. There's nothing mediocre about creative thinking.

When you find yourself going through the motions, having a string of lazy days that last a month of Sundays, or just doing the bare minimum to get by, slap yourself across the face and have a stern talk in the mirror. Take more pride than that.

Too many parameters can be constrictive, but creative thinking and problem-solving isn't the Wild West. Lawless towns wreak havoc on creativity because creativity take discipline and focus.

Embracing deadlines and other requirements of projects wholeheartedly for work may not be an issue, but on personal projects the struggle might be more prevalent.

If you're having trouble coming up with ideas or projects to work on, try giving yourself a project to complete. Assign a deadline and other parameters to help you focus and deliver tangible work in a timely manner.

Not only must you face the reality that you will fail and look silly, but some people are just shitty. The world seems more negative than positive, and the bad is always easier to remember and harder to forget than the good. If you're serious about doing creative work and sharing it with others, you're going to get knocked down, told no, and sometimes worse.

Social media has given people the power to share ideas, passion, and work all around the world, but it's also given cowards a bullhorn for their hate-filled speech. Don't let that stop you.

Your skin will callous over time. You'll be a Ninja Turtle. The haters will slide off your shell, but know that mean-spirited comments will always sting a little no matter how tough your shell gets. It comes with the territory, so be brave. You're stronger than you think.