Have you found yourself in a creative block? A creative rut? Again?
I have too.
Let’s see, I find myself in a creative block every other Friday. (Pretty sure it’s still not attractive.)
Creative block is a period when you can’t find motivation within yourself to practice your creativity of artistic crafts. Look at these different kinds of creative block to find out exactly what you’re suffering from.
Who knows, if you’re an artist, or practice creativity routinely, maybe you have experienced this feeling before and were just searching for the right word. Or probably, you are just looking how to find motivation, and you’re not really aware yet that this is what a creative block is actually called.
Don’t worry, these 9 surefire tips will absolutely demolish your creative block before you even realise that you had one to begin with.
But before that, I need to tell you—very briefly—why you’re in a creative rut in the first place. And I need you to listen, because until we get to the roots of the problem, we won’t be able to solve it completely.
This post will take you through 6 ways to end up getting stuck in a creative block, and then 9 ways to overcome it RIGHT NOW!
Table of Contents
How Do You Get Stuck in a Creative Rut?
It’s simple, really.
#1 if you keep working continuously
Even if you love what you are doing, too much of it will still end up harming you. Here’s how: you do things again and again, the work itself ends up feeling monotonous and not so exciting anymore. And the feeling of love will be replaced by a feeling of stress and burdensome responsibilities because you feel that you are “obliged” to do it and that kills all the fun.
So if you keep working continously and restlessly, you’ll have a creative block first and a burnout after. Both are two sides of the same coin, completely awful and yet preventable.
#2 if you don’t keep your health in check
Health is wealth, not the other way around.
If you don’t keep your health in check, eat good brain food, drink more water, take necessary sleep, exercise and move around more, then your body will sometime or the other demand attention and rest. And forgetting to take care of yourself does never lead to some exceeding amount of creativity or something, so as an artist of a creative thinker, you might as well stop neglecting yourself.
Here are the benefits of adopting healthy habits that enhance our creativity.
#3 if you focus on the outcome and not the process
Here’s what makes you experience a creative block, you focus only on the outcome.
And you can go all in for the long term only if you have interest in playing it, if you are interested in the process and not just the goal. Because if you’re only motivated by the vision of the outcome, then someday of the other you’ll find the task very unattractive and boring and you’ll lose your interest and motivation to keep going.
I know, the outcome is amazing. The outcome is beautiful, it’s what keeps us going half the time. But I have played by the outcomes before, focused on the outcomes and forgotten that the process, the little activities day in and day out, play the major part.
The outcomes don’t allow you to play long-term games. Once the outcome is achieved, if you aren’t obsessed with the process, you’ll lose motivation to keep going on. What next?
Don’t focus on getting A grades this year. Focus on studying regularly, keeping your notes up to date, asking for help from your teachers—the process. Don’t focus on losing weight or building muscles. Focus on gong to the gym each day, no holiday, focus on eating healthy food, getting a trainer. Don’t focus on achieving the goa. Focus on spending time and energy in the process.
I know, the process seems boring and all. But it’s what it’s all about: you have to fall in love with the process.
#4 if you feel a sense of urgency in everything you do
As if things will not go right if you don’t do this thing, if you don’t work all your day, if you don’t spend literally every second of every day puting your body, mind and health to test.
I have felt this way many times before. I think it’s pretty common too. You feel as if to save the world you have to do your work (art, in our case, since we’re dealing with creative block). As if to protect yourself and your family, you have to do your work. As if the solution to everyone and everything lies in your art (well, it does, but we don’t have to make it a question of life or death).
Take it easy. Repeat after me: I’ve got time and everything is happening at the right moment. The universe is striving to fulfill all of my wishes and desires. You don’t have to rush anything. It is falling into place. At its own pace.
#5 if you never be satisfied with what you have
This is another sure way of finding yourself in a creative block. Never be satisfied with what you’ve got and instead always try to get more, to want more.
Now, there’s something peaceful in being satiated. Satisfied. The Universe has given me all these amazing things and people, thanks Universe! And you move on. And the Universe keeps giving you more, but it’s not like you are rooting for it with the feeling that you have to have more.
On the other hand, if you’re never satisfied with what you’ve got, then the Universe won’t even care to give you more. It’ll realise that you just don’t care about it enough to actually put in the effort of getting it, and are instead always chasing it mindlessly and superficially. (My mum says so.)
That’s why we artists should always be thankful and satisfied for this power that we’ve been given, the power that can change the world.
#6 if you always think about work
Probably you’re experiencing a creative block because wven when you’re doing some leisure activity, or something unrelated to work, you always think about your work, because at the end it’s what matters the most (well, it kinda does but not…in such a dire way).
No, no, no. What does your body have to do to get the rest it deserves? Since you’re always overworking yourself?
Seriously, the world won’t end if you just take some time off. And when you’ve taken some time off, you need to put that time to good use to recharge and rejuvenate. You don’t have to spend all that time thinking about your work, if not working it.
Check, check, check.
I’ve done all these things. I’m not proud of it (but ah, at least it gives me stuff to write about). However, even if I find myself in a creative block every other Friday, I always find my way back out, here are the 9 ways I’ve figured out that make you come out of your creative block and teach you how to find motivation again.
How to Overcome Creative Block?
Or how to get out of a creative funk? Yeah, funk.
So these were all those methods that worked for me when I was suffering from a creative rut.
#1 unplug.
Technology has got both positive and negative effects on our creative life.
But while you are going through a creative block, it’s best to avoid electronic devices where everything is right in front of your eyes and the machine’s doing half of your stuff for you. Not forever, just for some time. A day?
Unplug from all technology. I mean, social media, internet, phone and laptop applications. Put your phone away, TV. Don’t look at what others are up to, okay? Take a nap or a shower, or sing a song. It’ll fall back into place, keep going, you’ll be as creative as before, if not more, soon enough.
#2 forget about it.
Literally, just let it go. Forget about your work or art for a while. The answer for how to get out a creative block if to forget that you were in a creative block in the first place. I’m serious!
So this thing basically happened to me: I have been planning a novel series for two years now, but nothing seems to stick. Whatever idea I get, I find it boring and overused and end up not wanting to write it. It’s a fantasy novel so I’m scared I might not be able to make it interesting. I had been looking for a breakthrough idea for a month now, so suddenly I just decided to stop. I stopped. Instead of desperately searching for ideas, I stopped. A walk down the week, I began focusing on another book.
I got an idea yesterday. Out of the blue. I swear. It works, seriously, guys. Just forget about it.
Only when you look away and then look at it some other way, you see something you were missing earlier. You view it in another light.
#3 don’t take advice.
People on the internet (cough cough, me) are going to constantly give you advice (cough cough, you’re reading it right now). But when I was in a creative rut, I just looked at a few generic points regarding the best steps in this situation and then I didn’t listen to any other advice at all.
Most of it doesn’t help anyway.
So it’s my advice to you: don’t take advice. (This sounds so ridiculous, but hear me out).
Look, I don’t know who you are, where you live, what you do, how old you are. I don’t know what art you create or why did you find yourself in the creative block in the first place. Same with everyone else. I can’t give you any personalized tips that absolutely will work. These worked for me. So I think that aside from reading all these stuff and trying to look for the solution to your problem on the internet you should instead take a look inside your own mind and find out what you are lacking in your current routine that encouraged this creative block.
You’ll surely find a way how to get out of a creative rut yourself. For now, keep reading the blog (cough cough, I hope I didn’t drive you away.)
#4 enter a new territory.
Begin doing something completely new. Something you haven’t done before. Something that will ignite a fire—a different kind of fire—back into you and make you glad to be able to work and think.
#5 make a list.
A list of 100 things to do this summer. 100 things to do this winter (if you can afford to find your way out of your cozy little blanky in your cozy little corner). Just make lists.
Make a bad day list. How to turn a bad day into a good day?
Maybe make your own creative block list. How to overcome creative block?
Make your dream list, your vision list, your favorite things list, a bucket list, all-the-things-you-like-about-this-blog list.
#6 study the classics.
The masters of your field, study them. If you don’t have any motivation, don’t know what to do, don’t know if you’re alone or if someone else feels the same way, then they are the ones who’ll tell you what to do. Study their works. Read about their lives. Spend time thinking what it would’ve been like in their era and how they would’ve done their art and found motivation.
And not just artists of your own field, you can also study artists of other fields. If you’re a painter, maybe study a musician. I once read a book where there was a girl who drew shapes like she heard some sound. She listened to someone’s voice, and then drew what it looked like to her. In lines and shapes. That was amazing.
My point is, if you’re a writer, study a visual artist. And so on. Aside from your own people, also look at what the others are doing.
#7 believe in yourself.
I know this is very, very, very generic step. Like, everyone says this. Every single one of them.
But let me just tell you that all these tips before us will be successful if and only if you believe in yourself, believe that you’ll find your way out of this creative rut, believe that you can do it, that you will be successful.
Just trust in yourself and your capabilities. And you’ll be unstoppable again in no time.
#8 listen to this amazing advice by Austin Kleon.
“When nothing’s fun anymore, try to make the worst thing you can. The ugliest drawing. The crummiest poem. The most obnoxious song. Making intentionally bad art is tons of fun.”
Keep Going, by Austin Kleon
I believe in this. Create it just for the fun of it. For the sheer fun of it. For the love you have for the process, for the amazing things it does to your mind and emotions.
#9 please just keep your health in check.
Most important of all. The most.
Like, sleep. Take care of your sleep. Eat healthy food. Laugh a lot. Move a lot. Drink water. I have got nothing else to say regarding this. I don’t want to say this, and I wouldn’t want to hear this either, but if you’ve spent the past few months neglecting your health in favour of giving your creative ambitions your 100 %, it’s not the smartest decision. Okay, I hope you end up creating something great and something you’re really proud of, but just take some time off and give your body the rest to absorb the huge success you’ve achieved.
Sooooooo, these were the 9 tips that I hope will help you overcome your creative block. Did I miss some effective tip? Sure, fire on in the comment box!! Did you like this post? Try out some more.
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