How-To Unlock Creative Roadblock

If you're like me, creativity plays a pivotal role in your livelihood and well-being as both an artist and a person. Unfortunately, most things that have such beauty also on occasion reveal an ugly side and in terms of creativity the biggest downfall is the dreaded creative block. Luckily just like a bad haircut, this lapse in creativity doesn't have to last forever. Take a deep breath and let me walk you through how to unlock creative roadblock.

Step 1: Stop what you're doing.

Taking on a creative endeavor requires interest in the subject at hand, so how are you supposed to channel new ideas if you're bored. If you find yourself staring at a computer screen, blank canvas or half finished sentence the best thing that I have found to work in my favor is to simply stop. A lot of the time forcing inspiration results in lackluster and stagnant work. Come back to it in an hour with a clear head and tabula rasa of the mind may bring with it a fresh perspective.

Step 2: Change your environment.

Atmosphere is everything when it comes to creativity, as I have mentioned time and time again. Everything from the chair you're sitting on to the guy talking with his hands in the corner of the room influences how well a person functions in a particular situation. So if you find yourself getting frustrated after spending what feels like eternity on a single task, just get up and go! Take a walk, get some fresh air, try out that new coffee shop across the street.

Step 3: Have a conversation.

Surrounding yourself with conversation is beneficial for a few reasons. Bouncing around un-finished ideas or concepts with anyone, even if they aren't themselves all that creative, can spark a new train of thought for yourself. Creative criticism, more often than not, can be encouraging as well as enlightening. Everyone thinks differently so sharing your thoughts with another person can lead to something great.

Step 4: Write it down.

New ideas sometimes come in moments of random inspiration. Carry around a small notebook or even open up a new note in your smartphone and jot down something, those moments of little nothings can amount to a whole lot of something. I almost never leave the house without a small notebook and pen in my bag and for those rare times that I don't I write thoughts down in my phone and come back to them. When you're feeling tired and un-inspired, take a look and allow your mind to fall back into that heads-space because you could have been on to something.

Step 5: Set small goals.

Alright, so you're back in the zone. Now it's time to try again, but before you do make a short list of what you are seeking to accomplish and break it down into smaller goals for yourself. Using this checklist as a guideline of progress, the seemingly impossible task at hand becomes more realistic.

Step 6: Reward yourself.

Motivation at times needs a little bit of incentive, so after setting small goals for yourself in the previous step work in some small rewards. They can be as simple as a snack (because who doesn't like food, duh) or scrolling through Instagram for 15 minutes, this way your mind takes a short break and your focus can be re-calibrated. Another tactic that I have found works wonders is setting aside a specific amount of time for whatever creative endeavor it may be and making plans afterwards, that way accomplishing your goal becomes movie night with bae or happy hour with the girls (win-win situation)

Step 7: Never stop creating.

At times, the sheer frustration and discouragement of creative block makes it hard to keep going. The one thing that an artist should never do is give up on their passion. This too shall pass and what is at the other end is silver lining sanity. Keep pushing forward because the satisfaction of creating something is the beauty of being the creator.

STAY PASSIONATE xx

P. S. 

"Silver lining sanity, carry me home." - Paulina Stanisz (ink on paper)