How to Get Yourself out of a Creative Rut

I thought this would be the perfect topic to write about today as I have gone through one of the most major ruts (creative and otherwise) over the past few months. I want to talk about what I have learned going through the experience and the steps I am still taking to get over it. I am using this post as a starting point for my commitment to this blog as you will see below.

I know how horrible it is to feel negative, uninspired, and downright frustrated sometimes, but I am here to tell you it is completely normal to feel like this. All we can do is wake up every morning and just show up and hopefully, eventually things start looking up. So here is how to get yourself out of a creative rut:

Board the Happy Train Everyday

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo! I find that it really helps to spend some chunk of time every single day doing something that I know will make me happy. Make a list if you have to and reference it the next time you are feeling uninspired. This all depends on your personality and preferences, but some surefire things that work for me are being with my family, going for a walk outside, painting my nails, drinking coffee, and looking at art blogs. Minus the last item, none of these require technology and I like to just leave my phone somewhere and not think about anything happening online. As inspiring as the internet can be, it can also be overwhelming specifically when going through one of these moods, so I like to limit it.  I would recommend trying a little internet detox occasionally and seeing what it does for you and your creative energy.

Re-evaluate Goals & Brainstorm Ideas

So, now that we’ve gotten the positive energy going, I like to use these times to my full advantage by writing out goals and brainstorming a list of ideas for future blog posts, photo ideas, recipes, etc. This makes it much easier to follow through with creating content when I am not as inspired or positive. And with anything you plan to do regularly, it’s a good idea to have a running list of ideas to work from. For example, if my goal is to publish one post per week, it would not be very efficient for me to think of an idea, execute it, tweak it, and post it all in that week. That would take a lot of time and I probably wouldn’t be fully satisfied with the end product.

Commit Publicly

What I mean by this is, whatever primary creative goal you have, tell people about it! Own it! For example, I am committing to publishing a blog post every Tuesday starting today and I am declaring it for anyone who cares to listen. I have included it in my Instagram bio for added accountability. You can call it cheesy, but I know this will force me to think creatively and write regularly, which is something I hold very dear to my heart. I have ideas and I want to share them with the world! In addition to committing verbally, make sure your actions match your words. Get organized, hold your project sacred, and work constantly to remove any barriers that could prevent you from achieving your goals. This is something I am really focusing on now more than ever. 

I hope these tips will prove to be helpful and good luck with all of your creative and other endeavors! Happy Tuesday!

xo  Aneela