It’s happened to the best of us…our reliable and steady stream of creative energy leaves us and we feel empty and devoid of any fresh ideas or inspirations.
Maybe it’s a piece you’re trying to write, or the next step in your design process as you ready for the next presentation that is looming over you. That feeling of a creative block can be unnerving.
A block feels different than creative inhibition. When you feel inhibited, you lose trust in yourself and need to reconnect with your own creative process. To be blocked is to be devoid of your creative energy altogether.
So, what do you do when those great creative ideas just aren’t coming? Here are some simple steps you can try on for size:
Forget About The Deadline For a Minute. Focusing in on your deliverable, whether set by your boss or your own attempt to increase your productivity, can be a killer to creative thought. Put your planner away and bring yourself into the present moment.
Break It Down. It may be that the daily task you’ve set for yourself is too daunting. Are there smaller tasks you can outline for yourself that will unlock your brain?
Talk It Out. Ideating in an echo chamber of one can become self-defeating if you’re struggling. Reaching out to your support system and just free-associating is sometimes all it takes to get those creative juices flowing again.
Step Away From the Page. Get up and away from your work space. Take a walk, change the loads of laundry, check in with a friend.
Above all, develop your OWN strategy unique to you, just as your creativity and innate talent is yours, and yours alone.
How do you move through a creative block? Share in the comments, we can all learn from one another.