We all get caught up in creative block sometimes. Really, everyone does. It is just a natural part of the creative process, to experience a point at which it feels like we don't know where to turn or what to do.
Creativity requires that we be open and willing to try something unfamiliar and even to be uncomfortable with what we produce. That sets us up for feeling frustrated in the creative process, and if we are prone to procrastination, even the idea of needing to create something new can make us feel like we need to shut down.
Let's find a way to make it a habit of being creative. Let's not get overly frightened when we experience a period of creative block.
Here are some suggestions for what to do if you find yourself without another word to write or another idea to push forward:
- Look at all free moments as moments of creative possibility. Travelling in a car or plane back from vacation may be one of your best times to find your flow.
- Consider all your ideas as potentially good ones. They won’t be, but it is good practice to reflect on them, to let them dribble out and be seen.
- Avoid intense self-criticism at all costs. Self-criticism is just not your best tool for your keeping your self-esteem, mood, or output at healthy levels.
- Think of creativity as a mundane, daily act. You don’t need to be holed away at a retreat in order to have an impulse to write, to paint, or to start your next composition.
- Use the morning time as a zone of creativity. The morning hours tend to be less busy, less harried, less mentally cluttered — so use that time and space. If you feel frazzled in the morning, figure out one or two steps you can take upon waking to make sure your mornings proceed more calmly.
- Be patient and kind with yourself if you are in a creative block… and then quickly move out of it. You can recognize your creative block for the momentary state that it is and then choose to focus on what you would like to communicate to the world next.
- Don’t be afraid to change things up. Change your pen color, your attitude, your workspace, your inspiration, your lighting, your tone or voice. It’s okay. You’re the boss when you are creating.
- Create without the image of someone looking over your shoulder or being critical of you when you are done. No need to burden yourself with any type of social pressure or fear when you are working. Never a need.
- Practice, practice, practice. Devote your time to your creative endeavors. Your creative output will get better this way. The results will be worth your effort and self-discipline.
- Avoid needing the finished product to be a certain way. You are limiting your work when you don’t need to. Let the work speak for itself. Allow the message you have to share with the world to flow.
All the tips above are not just relevant for creative block, but for procrastination in general. Teach yourself to connect with your work, rather than to try to distance yourself from it. See the time you work as a time for connecting all of your thoughts, feelings, and instincts and a time for becoming sharper in your own ways of being.
I've designed a great resource for you so you can put these tips into action right away. The CHECKLIST FOR CREATIVITY includes prompts for planning and scheduling your work, setting your mindset to complete the work, and evaluating your progress at the end of the workday. Click the button below to get access to the Checklist:
Always remember that creativity is a natural process and you are a natural creator. You can let go of all of your resistance to the process in order to let your creativity show you the way.
Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash
