Creative blocks are rarely baseless. Often, they stem from real issues
that occupy a creator’s mind and drain his or her creative energy. While
artists who create for fun can take a break when reality demands it,
those in creative fields have no choice but to try to find a crack in
the wall and tunnel through.
Like spinning tires in a ditch on a rainy day, getting out of a creative rut can be challenging, but there
are ways to reclaim your creativity when life tries to run away with it.
Get green.
Getting in touch with nature is a time-honored way of channeling
creativity, and a study by the University of Kansas, as reports the
Huffington Post, backs up the
nature-creativity connection.
Even adding plants to your office space increases the creative flow. If
you can’t take the time to recharge in the woods, get to the nursery
and invest in a floral office companion.
Enjoy your own work.
It’s not egotistical to appreciate your own work. Those of us who
create do so because we like our mediums. We paint, write or sew what we
would like to see, read, or wear. When you’re blocked, there is no
better work to study than your own. Your old ideas can lead to fresh
ideas, and you’ll remind yourself you’ve completed works in the past.
Delve into your craft.
When you can’t pinpoint why you’ve hit the rut in your creativity, it
may be because you’ve reached a boundary in your skill set. By working
to increase your capabilities throughout your career, you expand your
niche and have new directions when you feel one path blocked.
If you’re a writer, check out Writer’s Digest’s articles on writing, or try a few
Creative Writing Prompts
to help get your juices flowing. If you’re a freelance photographer,
enhance your photography by studying the photography tips at
iStockPhoto.com. If you’re a Web designer, try a different programming language.
No matter what field you’re in, you should be able to find some free
tutorials online. Study up to improve the skills you have or add to
them.
Free your mind.
It sounds counterproductive, but when you focus too hard on a
problem, you may block yourself. Stress is an enemy of creativity. When
you feel blocked, the worst thing you can do is stew on it, worry about
what it means for your project, and how your inability to get your work
done will impact your financial future.
Get up and do other things. Go for a bike ride, run an errand, or
take that shower you’ve been putting off for days because you were in
the zone. Let your mind wander. Often, it will come back to your project
on its own.
Post a public deadline.
We may create out of love, but when we turn our art into careers, we
know deadlines are part of the deal. A deadline gives us a timeframe,
which means we have to get through that wall one way or another. It’s
like the sports world’s equivalent of “playing through the pain”. It may
not be your best work, but some projects just need to get done.
If just thinking about a deadline when you’re blocked makes you
freeze up even more, consider this: according to the Harvard Business
Review, there is
good and bad pressure when it comes to creativity.
Good pressure is created by an optimally challenging project – a
project that is difficult, but that you have the skills to complete. If
you work in a creative field, you have the skills to get through your
block and get your project done on time. A deadline simply forces you to
put them to use in a timely manner.
