Let’s be honest — we’ve all experienced a creative block at some point in our lives. You’ve got your document open, and you are ready to use your brilliant ideas. Yet, you can’t write a single word. Whether you are an artist, a writer, or just want to come up with an innovative solution, a creative block can seem impossible to overcome.
Fortunately, there are a couple of ways to spark inspiration and work through your creative blocks. But first, we need to understand better what creative blocks are and what causes them. That way, you can even prevent them from happening again.
What Is Creative Block?
Generally speaking, creative blocks describe the inability to start or finish an idea or task. Those in creative professions, like writers, artists, and performers, are more likely to encounter these blocks. And while their duration varies from person to person, they usually last anywhere from a day to a couple of years.
What Can Cause It?
Creative blocks are frequently caused by a variety of factors, such as fear, stress, and lack of motivation. However, sometimes creative blocks are a symptom of an underlying mental condition, like depression.
Fear
More often than not, fear can trigger some of the longest-lasting and hardest-to-overcome creative blocks. While everybody experiences fear at some point in their lives, it can become too unbearable and prevent you from at least trying. For instance, if you are not confident in your ability, you might fear rejection as you don’t want your publisher or readers to laugh or dismiss your work.
Stress
Financial worries, career concerns, and relationship difficulties all cause stress, which can leave you creatively stuck. In fact, because you are preoccupied with all the stresses in your life, you are unable to focus on your task. Other sources of stress, such as deadlines and heavy workloads, can also make you feel exhausted, which will make it impossible to come up with fresh and exciting ideas.
Lack of Motivation
Motivation is essential for your productivity. Without it, you won’t be able to start or finish any of your projects. However, motivation goes up and down like a rollercoaster, especially when it comes to repetitive jobs. Lack of motivation can distract you and lead to procrastination, which will lower your productivity drastically.
Mental Health
Last but not least, mental health problems can also cause creative blocks. For example, if you are suffering from depression or the effects of trauma, you may find it difficult to be creative. Major life changes can also lower your inspiration and eventually prevent you from producing creative work.
How to Overcome a Creative Block
Change the Scenery
A change of scenery can do wonders for your creative flow, especially if you return to the same workspace every day. Visiting your nearby park, or heading out to a café, will refresh your motivation and awaken your inspiration. If that’s not enough, you can take a trip or spend an extended period of time abroad, as that will improve your creative thinking.
It’s important to note that the feeling of familiarity restricts your thoughts. By changing your scenery, you loosen up any constraints and allow yourself to see things from a new perspective.
Take a Break
Although you might think that breaks are counterproductive, they can help you overcome creative blocks. If you find yourself wasting hours on the same task, you should step away for a bit. It doesn’t really matter what you do during your break, as long as you are able to relax. That way, you allow your exhausted mind to rest, which will result in maximum efficiency.
Set a Routine
Routines are an important part of people’s lives. According to research done by Robert Boice, those who wrote or did other creative tasks habitually showed the highest levels of creativity. In other words, routines increased their overall output while also helping them come up with new creative ideas. In contrast, writers who waited for inspiration and didn’t write during the block saw little to no improvement in their creativity.
Therefore, once you work on a creative task and hit a block, one of the best things you can do is continue. It doesn’t matter if you come up with dozens of bad ideas. As long as you keep going, you’ll eventually overcome your block and be able to use your creativity. Just remember to take some small breaks once in a while to avoid burning out.
Exercise
While exercising is a great way to stay healthy, it can also help those that face creative blocks. Physical activities release endorphins, which will make you feel less anxious and more focused. They are also an opportunity for your brain to take a break from trying to solve a creative problem.
So, if you are dealing with a block, you should take a walk outside, play some sports, or do yoga. You’ll be amazed at what a bit of exercise can do for your mind and body.
Get Rid of Distractions
Creative jobs usually require a lot of hard, focused work. However, it’s almost impossible to be creative and productive when constantly distracted. It would help if you created an environment free of distractions by silencing your phone and closing any computer programs that you don’t use. If you have an office door, close it to create your personal space. Or, if that’s not possible, put in headphones and listen to some relaxing music to shut out exterior distractions.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, everybody experiences creative blocks. Thus, you shouldn’t let it affect you too much. Don’t think you’ll have to change your profession just because your creativity is lacking. Remember that there’s no such thing as a shortage of ideas—all you need to do is find them.
The next time you feel like you are running out of creativity, you should implement a few of the previously mentioned strategies. In no time, your creative juices will start flowing, and you’ll find yourself overwhelmed with amazing ideas.
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