You do not have to be a full-time artist or writer to have experienced dreadful creative block. It can strike at any time. Creative block doesn’t care if you have deadlines. It doesn’t care if you were super creative yesterday. It doesn’t care if you are an artist or a writer or neither. All it cares about is blocking your creativity! It is annoying and frustrating.
“Having confidence in your ability will help prevent creative block.”
So, what is a creative block?
A creative block is when you cannot come up with a creative idea. GoodTherapy.org describes it as “the inability to access one’s internal creativity.”
There have been many times when I did not know what to write, paint, or create. I was not sure where to begin, or how I would create it. The ideas don’t flow and when they do they dribble out slowly. I can get stuck on what materials I need, what colors to use, or what the design would look like.
More restrictions can equal less creativity.
My writing assignments are for a specific topic with an approximate number of words, written for a certain type of audience, and have a strict deadline. Every writing assignment is tailored to the client so it can be difficult to overcome creative block when given such a defined framework.
My art is less restrictive. I pick the colors, design, materials, and have no deadline. Even with fewer parameters, it can still be difficult to come up with an idea.
What can you do about it?
Over the years I have come up with some ways to combat creative block.
Here is my list of ways to beat it:
- Sit and Think
Literally. Take 20 minutes out of your busy day, sit in a quiet spot, take a few deep breaths, and let your mind wander. See what comes out. Write down any ideas.
- Morning Thoughts
Taking time to think during the day may not always be possible with hectic schedules. Some of my best creative ideas come to me first thing in the morning before I get out of bed. My brain has rested all night, there are no other distractions, the house is quiet, thoughts easily flow, and I write it all down.
- Schedule
Most of us have busy schedules and play many different roles within our creative business. We aren’t just the writer or artist, we are also the bookkeeper, social media manager, and publicist. In addition, we may also be a wife, mother, husband, or father. All of these responsibilities can pull us in many different directions.
Setting a schedule to be creative can help. For me, the main times I create is early in the morning and in the evening after dinner. During the day I handle all my other responsibilities.
Having a set time allows my brain to be prepared to create. I do also create whenever I get inspired but having these set times dedicated to creating has been helpful.
The schedule gives me a set time to manage social media, focus on lead generation, meet with clients, and so forth. It also helps because when I get distracted, I can say to myself, “No, this is my writing time.”
The schedule has trained my brain that this is the time I need to be creative. If you choose to follow a schedule, as well, then be adamant about following it.
- Write It All Down
People have a lot going on in their lives. I know I do. Writing everything down helps me. Think of it as a brain dump and get all your thoughts out of your head.
Write down anything you need to do, anything that is bothering you, or whatever comes to your mind. It gets it out of your head and onto paper so that you can stop worrying about it and taking up space in your brain. Now you can focus your brainpower on creative thoughts.
There is even a program, called The Artist’s Way, that is dedicated to this theory that writing everything down can help you with your creativity.
- Always Have a Notebook with You
I have notebooks by my bedside, jammed in my purse, on the bookcase, and on my desk. I am always jotting down ideas, parts of stories, things to do, sketches for a future painting, marketing plans, blog post ideas, and so on. It helps me stay on track and gives me a good source of inspiration when I go back and reread what I wrote or drew.
If you aren’t a paper person like me then use the note app on your cellphone. This way you don’t have the hassle of carrying a notebook but have the ability to capture all your creative thoughts. There are even drawing apps you can download for artists who need to sketch or draw ideas.
- Give Yourself a Break
Take a break; go outside for fresh air, take a walk, play with your dogs, switch activities, or clean something. Yes, clean something!! I’ve had many great ideas come to me while I was standing over my sink doing dishes.
If you do not want to take a break entirely then take a break from that one activity. If I get stuck on one creative activity, then I will switch to another creative one. I often go between writing, painting, and art journaling. This way, it gives me a break from each activity while I still continue to be productive throughout the day.
- Walk Away
If giving yourself a short break, switching activities, or sitting outside doesn’t help, then maybe leave the project alone for a day or so. Have a little “me time.” Come back a day later refreshed and ready to start again.
- Find Inspiration
Where do you find inspiration for your writing or art? Maybe it’s a museum or nature, a local park, a walk around your neighborhood. Wherever it is, go there.
Or maybe it isn’t a physical place. It could be a blog, website, or magazine.
- Collect Inspiration
Maybe you collect inspiration in the form of a vision board, mood board, or style board. I tear out photos from magazines that inspire me. It could be a nature picture, a color I really like, or even a picture of a place. Then I flip through the book when I need something to influence me.
Pinterest is also a great place to collect inspiration. You can start an inspiration board and have easy digital access to it wherever you go!
- Environment
Make your creative space a great area to work in. Add in your favorite things that inspire you. Make it comfy and inviting. I find working in my craft room surrounded by all my supplies is very inspiring to me. On bright, sunny days I am more inspired to work in my sunroom or outside. This leads me to my next suggestion.
- Change Environment
There may be some days when it is more inspiring to work outside on a sunny day, or at the local coffee shop. Creativity can come from anywhere so make sure you don’t get stuck working in the same place. It’s ok to move around. Go wherever the inspiration takes you!
- Streamline the Ideas
Streamline your ideas, then choose between the best ones. More does not always equal better.
Sometimes when I have a creative block, I will pull out a lot of my supplies and start trying different things to see what looks best or what will spark an idea. This does backfire on me when I find myself surrounded by too many choices. Now I have even more decisions to make and have even more creative block because now I can’t decide between materials, colors, layouts, or textures.
This also applies to writing. If I gather too much data on a topic then I am swimming in statistics and start to lose the focus of my piece. I have to find that sweet spot of having just enough relevant data.
- Realize It Won’t be Perfect
Ugh! There is nothing worse than self-doubt. Time and time again I find myself staring at the paper, canvas, journal page, computer screen, or craft project and saying to myself, “does this even look good?” With that negative thought, I stop what I’m doing and go back to the drawing board.
Artists are perfectionists. We can really second-guess our decisions. I find myself saying things like, “Maybe I shouldn’t have used that color? I don’t like this. I should have done this instead.” This prevents me from moving through the project and seeing the final outcome.
When I started pushing through, ignoring the negative self-doubt, and completing the project I realized I actually liked the outcome. I just needed to get past the initial self-doubt and fear of it not being perfect.
- Make Sure the Idea is Ready
Maybe your idea isn’t ready to be made yet. Maybe you need to keep developing it. If so, push it aside and move on to the next idea or project.
Numerous times I have myself with a vision in my head but get creative block when it came time to actually produce it. I was unsure of what materials to use or where to begin. I wrote it in my notebook and kept thinking about it from time to time. One day a great idea on how to create the results I wanted popped into my head and I was able to complete it. It just wasn’t ready yet.
This is where a notebook comes in handy because you can write down what you have so far and then keep developing it as more thoughts come.
- Just Get Started
Stop fearing perfection and just get started even if you have no idea what the final project will look like. The act of doing, feeling tangible items, seeing the materials, can help unblock your creativity. Start building on one sentence or one paint stroke and see where it takes you. Often times I start with a few sentences and build on that. Next thing you know my 1500-word article is complete.
- Deadlines
Deadlines will make you get started! That article has to get written or that art project is due. You don’t have time to hem and haul about colors, design, etc. Deadlines can force you to be creative even when you think you have a block because something has to come out now.
- Keep learning
Maybe you have been an artist/writer for years and are at the top of your industry. Maybe you are just starting out. Either way, you need to keep learning, keep honing your skills. Attending conferences, reading books, joining groups related to your field are all ways that will help you to keep learning and be a great source of inspiration to you. Building your skills and surrounding yourself with other creatives can help prevent creative block.
- Music
Putting on headphones, turning on your favorite music, sitting down in front of your creative outlet, and letting your creativity flow works great for creative block.
For me, the headphones provide a sense of isolation from the outside world, the music sparks emotions, it puts me in a state of flow, and the creativity freely comes out onto the paper.
- Test it Out
Artists are always trying to be perfect in their craft. Sometimes we get creative block because we are worried that it won’t look the way we want it to or not sure how to create what we see in our heads.
Having a practice piece is the answer. If you are a painter, use a piece of canvas and try out different techniques that you might want to use in your next project. I test out colors, techniques, and various types of mediums. This helps to unblock my creativity because I can see what the outcome will be. When it is time to do the actual project, I am more confident about how the project turns out.
There is nothing wrong with testing out your ideas on a practice piece or on a smaller scale before going for the final product. Then you will know what will work and if you like the way it looks.
- Have Confidence
Believe in yourself. Having confidence in your ability will help prevent creative block. If you get creative block trust that you are confident and creative, enough to overcome it and in a short time you will be back to creating!
If you need help with having confidence, then read this.
Hope this helps!
The next time you get creative block I hope you will be able to use some of these strategies to beat it. Comment below and let me know what helps you get over creative block.
Also, read this to get creative ideas and this to find ways you can create on a budget.
