By Marianne Wathne Johansen

Legal highs

Being a creative can be quite nerve-wracking. There’s the demoralising feeling of having your ideas killed over and over again, and then there’s the euphoria that comes with coming up with the ‘big idea’, winning a pitch or even an award. The latter is like a legal high, if you will – but the hopelessness of just coming up with shit is the exact opposite.

The other day, my partner and I were both exhausted and over-worked. ‘Sometimes I wish I just had a job where I did what was needed, without having to deal with all the opinions that come with creative work’, I said. But in all honesty, I would’ve been bored to death in such a job. If you’re sitting in an office doing the same thing over and over again, chances are you won’t get excited, and you sure won’t excite other people through what you do. That’s something you can do through creative work.

So how do you find the balance? One of the greatest people in advertising did a masterclass at SCA a few months back. He said you’d have to try and even out the highs and the lows if you wanna survive in this industry – but he didn’t say how.

So how do we find it? You have to forgive yourself for sometimes churning out shit. It happens – especially if you’re stressed, which is hard not to be with only 7 weeks left at SCA. So remember to take breaks, and definitely avoid multitasking. It just disturbs focus.

As much as advertising can feel like a legal high, you have to find some balance before you lose your mind.

Wish me luck.