I have this fear when it comes to creativity. This fear that there is only a finite amount of creativity running through my veins. Yes, I know this is ridiculous. Creativity is not this thing that exists in limited supply. But sometimes it sure feels like it.
I love that my career path allows me to be creative in various forms: through writing, photography, content creation, and creating playlists and sequences for the yoga classes I teach. But I also go through phases when I’m in a total creative rut. I have zero new blog ideas and my playlists feel totally blah.
In my opinion, it’s kind of impossible to avoid hitting a rut all together. It’s just something that happens. But I’m learning how to spark creativity and [quickly] pull myself out of these ditches. Here is what’s been working for me:
tips for Getting out of a creative rut
Go for a podwalk
Okay, this is my advice for all of life’s struggles. But I really do love a good podwalk!
When I’m struggling to stay productive and grasping for threads of creativity, I’ll put on my headphones, turn on a podcast and start walking downtown.
Sometimes I’ll turn to a business focused podcast, like Being Boss, if I’m looking to spark creativity for the blog. I also love listening to interview podcasts like Let It Out and Chasing Joy because sometimes a question being asked will give me some inspo. And sometimes I say “fuck it” and listen to something totally fun like my new favorite Sex and the City podcast Splat and the Drag Race focused podcast Alright Mary.
Get moving
Besides podwalks (will I ever shut up about podwalks?) it’s probably no surprise that I turn to exercise when I’m stuck. I know I shouldn’t admit this as a yoga teacher, but I often times get my best ideas while taking a yoga class. Even though I know I’m not “supposed” to be thinking about work and the outside world when I’m getting my flow on.
I’ve also been known to totally zone out during a spin class because I’m so lost in thoughts thinking about a new blog post idea I just got.
Change up your environment
In general I like to work from my desk, but sometimes I’ll rotate around the different seating areas in my apartment. My apartment is pretty small so there’s really only my desk, the couch and my counter. But it’s something different! I like to think of it as giving myself a change of perspective… which will hopefully lead to a new idea.
Put pen to paper
Sometimes I’ll have an idea for a blog post but I have NO idea how to go about writing it. When that happens I’ll bust out a notebook and write out some ideas the old school way: with paper and pen. For whatever reason I’m better at translating an idea from my brain to words when I’m physically writing rather than typing.
This also works if you’re writing boring grad school research papers. Trust me.
Take a shower
Anyone else get their BEST ideas in the shower?
Sophomore year of college I took a class called Creating Your Own Work, or COW for short. We spent the whole semester creating a 5-7 minute solo piece of theater. Every Friday we’d present something we had been working on to get feedback from the class. Well every week I’d struggle to figure out what the hell I was going to do for my presentation. Thursday night I’d take a shower and pray that I’d be struck with some brilliant idea. I don’t know if the ideas were always brilliant, but they did magically come to me in the shower without fail.
I still get a lot of my best ideas in the shower. Including the name of my wellness company with Leslie: Holistic Happening. When it doubt, take a shower. It really helps!
Let it breathe
Sometimes creativity can’t be forced and ya just gotta let it breathe. Which sucks if you’re on a tight deadline. If I really feel like I’m riding the struggle bus to figure out something I’m writing, I’ll take a giant step back and let it breathe. Maybe for 30 minutes. Or a day. Or a week. But sometimes you just gotta let things flow rather than forcing them to happen. Take a break of sort (may I suggest a podwalk 😉) and let it breathe.
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Your turn: How do you deal with a creative rut??
Such great tips! I always get great ideas while running — sometimes too many to keep track of 😂 And I’m totally with you on the pen and paper thing!
Hahaha I used to write blog posts in my head hardcore during long training runs!