How I Combat Creative Blocks
Anyone who works with creativity can tell you—it’s fickle and hard to control. There are times when the inspiration flows and ideas come easily, and alternatively, there are times when you sit there for hours and get absolutely nothing done.
Lately, I keep running into creative blocks. After much reflection, I’ve found that it’s attributed to two things: the first is that I’m using so much of my creativity for my full-time job (truly a blessing, but it leaves me with very little energy and inspiration for myself), and the second is that I’m consuming too much entertainment on youtube.
For me, entertainment-oriented content provides short-term joy but also triggers underlying anxiety. It frequently makes me think too much about how I can tailor my creativity for my audience. While having an ideal audience in mind is an important part of business and success, I think that focusing primarily on what’s popular, trendy, or entertaining can detract from actually creating for the purpose of self-expression.
So, as an exercise, I’m taking today to just reflect on tactics that I use to combat creative blocks as well as steps that I’m going to try to get out of this current rut.
1. Eliminate hard deadlines and expectations
Yes, consistency is key, but sometimes those hard deadlines are the exact opposite of helpfulf.
Success comes from the combination of opportunity (privilege) and perseverance, and although long-term consistency is a key factor in success, taking a step back from the structure of deadlines can actually open up the forum for deep rest, which in turn allows you to better tap into what you want to express.
Give yourself permission to fully set aside any deadlines for a few days and trust that the work will eventually get done. Allow yourself to simply live and take the time to do things that you enjoy outside of content creation. If an idea comes up spontaneously, take a quick note or write a quick draft, and after a few days of full and deep rest, give yourself a new deadline to complete the project.
2. Set boundaries
Sometimes, it’s hardest to be creative when there are no rules or boundaries on a project. When your space is an open forum for discussion and reflection, focusing on just one idea can be the most difficult part. When that happens, I combat it by setting strict guidelines, boundaries, and themes to play with.
Example: personally, this happens a lot with photography. When there are no restrictions on style, lighting, or editing, the photographs frequently turn out to be too commercial because it’s natural to go for the easiest shot. In contrast, setting a theme, restricting a pose, or working with difficult lighting prompts me to reflect on how to make the most of what I’m working with and as a result, the photographs end up being more creative.
3. Free write or mind map
Allowing yourself to write down what you’re thinking without judgment is a good way to get the juices flowing. When you open up space and allow thoughts to flow on paper, it gives concrete form to not just those ideas, but also to the connections that link idea to idea. As you go back and reflect on that piece of paper, that’s when the creativity begins to take concrete form.
4. Get off social media
Seriously. Stop consuming short-form media. While it can be entertaining and also inspire other short-form pieces of content, I’m a strong believer that in order to tap into deep creativity, we need to take a break from consuming and turn inwards.
Being on social media also adds unnecessary pressure for what you create to look and sound a certain way. If everyone started pulling inspiration from the same place, then the art that we create would all be uniform. How boring would that be? Personally, I think that in order for art to truly inspire, it needs to be at least somewhat raw and unedited.
5. Finding creativity in other parts of your life
It's safe to say that when you’ve been doing something for a long enough time, it gets monotonous and the spark dies out. Part of human nature is to seek spontaneity and change, but in creative work, it’s always this balance between consistency/brand-building and finding innovative ways of expressing growth.
Taking time to try a new task or project can spark creativity and push you to look at familiar tasks in a new way.
I think that creativity in essence comes out of wanting to convey a message or a feeling and in order for that creativity to flow, we have to be in touch with exactly what we are trying to express. I’ve found that creative blocks happen when we’re disconnected from our own experience and therefore, at its core, the best way to get back in touch with that inspiration is to get reconnected.
These are just some of the ways that I’ve found supportive in breaking out of creative ruts but the artistic process looks different for everybody.
