5 (Actually Helpful) Tips for Getting Out of a Creative Rut

“But you’re a creative person, you love your job/degree/project, just do what you normally do.”

Possibly the least helpful advice that can ever be given? I will start this post with the preface that I love both of my jobs and I loved my degree. This being said, I still really struggle with motivation to get going on new projects and sometimes find the whole concept overwhelming in a way that means I just end up with a totally empty brain. This is partly due to a personal problem of being incapable of carrying out work without a clear deadline and procrastinating until I have to cram it all in (I flourish under pressure), but sometimes it is as simple as getting stuck in a creative rut.

I've always been creative, however I've never drawn or painted as a hobby really

and I struggle to ‘just be creative’ without an end goal. While a solid project is the first step in breaking out of the rut for me, sometimes I still draw a blank and just don’t know how to start. This post is for anyone who, like me, sometimes struggles to find their inspiration and motivation and is looking for methods of dealing with this that don’t include spending an afternoon sat at their desk doing nothing while also being consumed with guilt for doing nothing. So without further ado…

6 (actually helpful) tips for getting out of a creative rut.

Yep 6. I thought it was 5 when I was planning this post, but when I started writing I realised it was actually 6 so I chucked it in as an extra.

1. First things first. Establish the brief.

As I’ve already mentioned I can’t create without a clear end goal and I think this is true for more people than we realise. You wouldn’t write an article without a rough plan of what you wanted to say, you wouldn’t start baking without some idea of what you were hoping to produce and it’s silly to think you can just be creative without a similar end goal.

It’s important to clarify here that having a plan does not stunt your creativity and I find it actually encourages mine. Just because you start with an end idea, doesn’t mean you have to stick to this. (You can actually see that from our original moodboard that some of the concepts aren't included at all in our collection.)

So set your project and establish your brief. Maybe your project has been set by someone else and you already have the brief which means you get to skip a stepping stone (lucky!!) But maybe you’re self starting this project - in that case pretend you aren’t. Either set a brief with guidelines as if you were setting it for someone else or pretend you’ve been presented it by that someone else - whichever method works better for you. Some things to consider are your time scale and deadline, the scale of the project, are you aiming for one large piece or a series of new pieces?, your theme and any immediate sources of inspiration you already know are going to influence the work. I find that when the goals of a project are defined it clears my brain fog (side note: I’ve realised inside my brain is often reflective of the sky - foggy, hazey and can’t see anything, clear blue bright and big) and I can begin to think about the more specific details. However, sometimes inspiration still doesn’t strike and I find myself with an empty head (think thick white mist where you can’t see the car in front). The next tips are for when you really are stuck in a rut.

2. Get outside.

Ok you’ve heard it before but that’s because it really does help. Ironically, while I was writing this I was having a complete flop, lacking any form of motivation and was completely restless. So I stopped. And went to walk my dogs instead. The fresh air cleared my mind and the movement helped the jittery, restless feeling.

After the walk I had a much clearer outlook on what I needed to get done, where my priorities were and what could be put aside. I also didn’t do any more work that day. We know when our brains are just not in the right space to complete work to the standard we expect and sometimes, rather than force ourself to just do it and end up having to redo it later, it’s better to take the hint to rest and leave it for another day.

3. Look for inspiration in new places..

Where is your go to for inspiration? Instagram? Pinterest? Maybe that’s even how you found this list of ways to get inspiration? Sometimes, the mindless scrolling of being online doesn’t stimulate your creative mind in the best way and you need to switch it up. So start looking in new places for inspiration. Some ideas of where else to look could be:

Books

Favourite coffee table book full of beautiful pictures? Best adventure story you read as a child? New novel to start? Non fiction food memoir? All valid sources of inspiration that might get your thoughts whirring.

Gallery Exhibitions

When did you last go out to look at other creatives’ work? Get yourself out to your nearest gallery or museum - the exhibition doesn’t need to even be new or relevant to your field.

Shops

Time for some market research! What else is in your market? Where are the obvious gaps? (sounding a bit like your dissertation tutor? Sorry.) What about the styling of the pieces and the shop? View everything as holistically as you can, you never know where the next lightning bolt is coming from.

Magazines

Pretty much the same as above - favourite magazine? Go out and treat yourself to it and look through all the pages, even the adverts.

(Approach the rest in a similar way, I think you get the gist now)

Architecture

Nature

Film

Theatre

Holiday pictures

Your own old work

4. CLEAN.

Ew sorry are you my mum? Not the answer I’m looking for. But seriously, taking the time to clean and organise your space will have a similar effect on your brain. And make sure you go the full monty - I’m talking deep clean - vacuum, polish, empty the bins, declutter, rearrange, open the windows, change all the dead batteries, water your plants, make your bed, clean your brushes (makeup or artists), clean the loo, light some candles. Trust me when I say you’ll be able to feel the clean in your soul and it will have a hugely positive impact. Yeah, sometimes it will take all day, but it will also mean that your work will be much better the next day and the one after and the one after that.

5. Do something else creative (but different).

You could try something in the same area as your project. For example, if you need to start a painting then you might try drawing or sculpture. Or you could try something completely new, if you have writers block for your novel then you might bake a cake, anything that gets your creative brain working will help stimulate it.

And if you can’t think of what to do then just try reading. It doesn’t have to be a Tolstoy novel (trust me, I’ve read one, its not an easy task and I wouldn’t bother again), just anything that will take your imagination away from your surroundings and give your brain a chance to rest and reset.

5. Number 6. The bonus tip promised earlier.

(And brace yourself for some seriously tough love.)

Be honest with yourself, have you really exhausted all the ways of getting out of this rut? Have you tried literally all of the above? And how much are you just procrastinating? As the queen of procrastination there is literally no judgement here, but it also means I know that underlying feeling that you’re actually just putting something off and making it worse for yourself. So this is the tough love you need to hear in that situation.

Just start.

The chances are when you start doing whatever it is, your brain will remember what it is it loves about it and the ideas will start flowing. Even if the first thing you create doesn’t go towards your final outcome? No worries. Being a creative is all about development anyway. Just give it a shot and see what you can do.