7 Ways to Get You Going Again
“I’ve been stuck for a while now. How do I get back to creating?”
I hear a variation of this question from readers over and over again. I know the ones who speak up about being stuck are certainly not the only ones who are stuck. They’re the ones who’re bold enough to admit it.
So for everyone who’s stuck, or who’s been stuck before or will get stuck sometime in their future creative journey, here are 7 ways to get you going again.
3 Ways to Get You No Longer Stuck
- Start Small
Let’s be honest. Rome was not built in a day. And your creative journey will not be either. So start small and do not despise your small beginnings because they will eventually accumulate into a sizable achievement. To get yourself unstuck, you really want to start small because taking small steps helps you do two things. It helps you overcome the inertia of being stuck, and it helps get you started and going again.
- Don’t Wait to Be Ready
Let’s get real. You don’t need to wait to be ready before you create. Very often, we want all our ducks in a row before we start. Doing this can keep you stuck for a very, very long time. Start exactly where you are. Start even if you feel like you’re not ready. Because the truth is, you don’t need to know everything. You don’t need to have all the tools and supplies. And you certainly don’t need to have a well-fitted studio space. Many people start in their bedrooms, or in their dining rooms, or in a shared space. It really doesn’t matter. All that matters, is that you start.
- Choose the Right Time of Day
We all (myself included), self-sabotage ourselves when we try to create at times of the day which are not conducive to our creativity. For example, I know it’s hard for me to focus when I’m writing and my kids are running around the house playing. On the other hand, I can do the construction part of a textile project quite well during that time without getting distracted. Even if you say, “I don’t have distractions”, science shows that each of us has specific times of the day when we are most productive. So, why don’t you take time to find out the best time of day for you to create? So that you can make sure you keep creating without getting stuck.
4 More Ways to Get You No Longer Stuck
- Challenge Yourself Beyond Boredom
I like this one because it’s happened to me so many times. When you feel like your creative juices are drying up, it’s very likely that you’re bored with what you’re doing. Things may have become too simple for you. You probably know the process you’re using too well or you’ve used that technique too often. Boredom can stunt your creative growth. (I feel like writing that in all caps). Seriously, when you get bored, you want to challenge yourself and try something new and difficult and scary. I can personally credit a lot of my creative growth to challenging myself continuously. So, I’ll like to encourage you to do likewise. Take some risks and challenge yourself. Because you’ll be doing yourself a lot of creative good when you do.
- Practice Consistently
Next, when you’re creating, consider it as practice. Because doing so takes the pressure off for you to create masterpieces. It allows you to keep creating while you’re getting better at it. And it helps you get your mediocre creations out of the way to make room for your masterpieces to come through. When I challenged myself to use stitch exclusively, I practiced every single week. And that practice got me lots of results. When you practice continuously, you make progress continuously. And you’re not at a loss for what to create next. Aka, you don’t get stuck quite often.
- Change Your Limiting View
You may find yourself stuck and unable to create because you’ve got a limiting view of what “real art” is. A lot of people struggle with this without even knowing it. Sometimes it’s because you’re comparing your art with some other person you know or some “masters of art” who are greatly admired. Stop trying to be like another artist. Be you. The best art you’ll ever create is the one that is the true expression of yourself, not of someone else’s story.
Conclusion
- Make Self-Care your Priority
Finally, let’s face it. If you’re not taking care of yourself, you’ll not have the creative energy to keep going. Your personal health and well-being play an important role in whether you’re creating or whether you’re stuck. Take time to care for yourself. The better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to create again. Learn to balance self-sacrifice to a larger dream with self-care so that you’ll live to see your creative dreams come true.
So there you have it, my dear friend – 7 ways to get yourself unstuck from a creative block. Write a comment below and let me know how these resonate with you personally.
Warmest Regards,
PS: The images in this post are coloring pages I designed and created by hand using continuous line drawing and then I colored them. 🙂
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