Let’s be honest, we have all faced a creative block at some point in life. How many times have you sat down to write or to complete that art project and failed? A creative block is when you can no longer access your inner creativity. These creative blocks can last for days, months or even years. 

The most common reason behind creative blocks are anxiety, fear and stress about how the final product will turn out. While you can wait for inspiration to strike, there are a few things you can try to get your creative juices flowing.

Here’s your step-by-step guide to overcoming creative block:

Unplug

It doesn’t hurt to disconnect and unplug from all the technology around you from time to time. In our increasingly digitalized world, we have content and conversation thrown in our face 27 / 7.

Taking a break from all this chaos can actually be beneficial for you and it might be one of the best ways to reconnect with your creativity. Try getting away from your phone, go for a long walk or start reading a book. All of these ways are bound to help you regain your creativity. 

Rest

Take a break from all that’s going on around you and rest. Hustle culture has taught us to make work our top priority. This often leads to our hobbies and resting time taking a back seat. However, we all need time to recharge.

So, take some time to catch up on your sleep. Once your mind and body have had an adequate amount of rest, creativity is bound to flow.

Establish a routine

Establishing a routine is important for any kind of creative work. While unplugging and resting might take you out of a temporary slump, having a routine is necessary to create new content.

Working with a routine improves the quality of the work that you do and also increases overall productivity. Take this time to create a realistic routine that you can easily follow.

 Reach out

Reach out to your friends or to other industry professionals. Creativity blocks can be more challenging if you believe you’re in them alone. Speaking to others can be a good reminder that you’re not alone and millions of people have gone through what you’re going through right now.

Create constraints

When everything else fails, it might be time to give some definition to your project.

Create constraints such as defining what your project is going to look like, setting a deadline or start performing tasks that will move your project further.

The problem with waiting for inspiration to strike is having limitless time and options. When that is not an option, constraints can help us in moving forward and may even get us out of that creative block.

Don’t aim for perfection

One of the most common reasons for creative blocks is fear of imperfection. Remember, there is no such thing as perfect. Whether its a piece of writing, artwork or music, whatever you create will always be unique and special.

To get some inspiration, look into the works of your favourite artists. No matter how perfect these works look to you, there will always be bad reviews and criticism to be found. So, stop focusing on making your work perfect and do what feels right to you.

Creative blocks are more common than we think. Everyone around us has suffered from some type of creative block throughout their life. While it is okay to step back and reflect on your creativity, the key is to keep showing up for work and not aiming for perfection.

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