How to get through a creative rut

We’ve all been there, the creative rut. In fact, I’d been stuck feeling pretty unenthused about my work quite recently, I didn’t have any ideas I liked, I was procrastinating hard and everything I was making felt subpar. I still feel a bit like that. I know I’ll feel like that again.

So here are a few ways you can engage with your creative rut and make it seem a little less overwhelming.

 

Embrace it

Okay, so you’re human. You’re not a machine, you’re a living being. That means you’re going to have to take breaks, you’re going to have periods of slower or no growth. Trees lose their leaves in winter, bears hibernate, people have creative ruts. So, embrace whatever’s going on, whether you have no ideas or no motivation and take it as a sign that you need to listen to what your body is telling you and accept you might need a little break.

Let it breathe

Linked to the point above, is the fact that sometimes we misinterpret impatience as a creative block. Cut yourself a little slack. Take the time to play around, and to find inspiration. Being bored and lazing around can be a good thing. Sometimes all you need is an extra day.

Run away from it

Generally, we’re not meant to run away from our problems. We get told over and over to face up to them and just get on with it. Sometimes that does work with a creative block, but sometimes you do need to run away from it, quite literally. Go on a run. Leave the house, the office, the country. Go do something different, be somewhere different. A change in scenery can sometimes give you a change in perspective.

Step back from it

In that time away from your desk, take a step back from yourself as well and have a think about why you’re feeling blocked. Have you been working on a load of client projects and not had the chance to work on something you love? Are you overwhelmed by a blank page? Are you over tired? Have you been stuck in a routine? Are you not doing work you’re interested in? Are you facing something else in your life? Sometimes, a creative rut is a symptom rather than the problem. Take the time to work out if there’s something else contributing to how you’re feeling, and if there’s something you can do about it.

 

Put it back in a box

Give yourself some constraints. Sometimes limiting yourself (time, subject matter, materials, style, colours etc.) can force you to be more creative. For example, I love Kevin Townsend’s  timed pieces, which then seemed to create a whole new style and way of working for him. Putting yourself in a box, is sometimes the best way to get out of it – what’s more terrifying than a completely blank page when you have no ideas?

Do you have any tips for people struggling with a creative rut?

Natalie