Tips to Overcome Creative Block

“Creativity is experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and most importantly, HAVING FUN”

We've all had it happen to us. Creative exhaustion is a real dread, but it happens to everyone. It can leave you staring at an empty page, canvas, or a blinking cursor with nothing around it.  This is very common, the feeling of being drained and unmotivated. 

A creative block is different for different people, but there are some ideas and tricks that can help everyone overcome this. Take a look and remember to push through.

1. Getting in the lap of nature

The first tip I have for you is the most common and still the most important one. It is no surprise that enjoying time outdoors helps us see things differently and feeds our creativity, so get outside! Take a stroll around the block, relax on your favorite park bench, or discover a new neighborhood street. I can almost guarantee that you'll feel better afterward.

2. Scribble Away

A study has shown that writers who scribbled or wrote habitually were more creative than those who did not. And that is obvious, right? Look at children who scribble without a dash of care of this world. You have to do exactly that. 

If you are feeling creatively blocked, just pick up a diary and a pen, and start scribbling, anything and everything that comes to your mind. You can jot down ideas, you can write your thoughts and you can even draw. The only thing you need to be careful about is not to be careful. This exercise can help you untangle your thoughts and can even act as a venting system. 

3. Get out of Your Comfort Zone

Michael Easter, professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, in his book The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self, says that the accessibility of the entire world's knowledge at our fingertips, climate-controlled apartments, and routines that don't challenge us, all reduce creativity.

Getting out of your comfort zone doesn’t have to be big and complicated. Try simple things like, a new route to work, taking an improv class, and brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. 

4. Change where you work from

If you frequently go to the same workspace consider swapping your environment to observe how it affects your ability to be creative. Going outside to a new cafe, an engaging coworking place, or a rejuvenating park can spark your creativity and renew your enthusiasm for working. 

More substantially, going on holiday or staying overseas for an extended period of time can help you become more creative and problem-solving oriented.

5. Step Away from Your Work

More often than not, when we hit a creative block, we tend to keep trying and pushing through it. The results we get are just more frustration and anxiety. What we can do instead is, try stepping away from the work and catch a break. Our brains need time to process all information at hand. Here are some ways to give yourself a break

1. Take a Nap: Naps are the most underrated solution to creative block. Enough sleep will also ensure that you wake up fresh and energized.

2. Read moreThe best way to get creative is to surround yourself with creativity. 

3. Do some mindless web surfing. Check out your alumni pages, or maybe even stalk your high school crush a little, just to feel smug about all the progress you have made.

4. Get Netflexing! There is no dearth of good content on online platforms these days. So if you have been putting off the new season of your favorite show, it is time to pick that up and give yourself a much-needed break.

5. Get some exercise. The next time you're having trouble coming up with new ideas, go for a quick stroll, dance your heart out or try a 15-minute yoga sequence. You could be startled by the outcomes of just moving your body. 

6. Cook! Is there a new recipe you have been wanting to try for some time? Then this is the time to give that a shot and let your inner chef out.

7. Go for a shopping trip. It doesn’t have to be fancy apparel shopping. You can take this time to get your groceries too. It is the break from the work that will help you.

8. Talk to a friend or family. Catching up with your loved ones is a good way to feel cheerful and fill yourself with some positivity. The bottom line of stepping away from the work is to walk away and try again later.  

6. Keep a diary for when inspiration strikes

Keeping a diary will ensure you write about things that will inspire you later. These will mostly be random observations, any new facts you may learn, an interesting new quote or anything for that matter. 

This way you can build up a ready reference for you to consult whenever you feel stuck.

Conclusion

It's never enjoyable to struggle through a creative block, yet, on occasions, practically everyone does. Try one of these strategies the next time you're feeling stuck to spark your creativity.