Letters for Creatives #3: What to do when you are in a creative rut

That stops nurturing your creativity

Hello, I am Celeste. Each week I provide tips about creativity. Send me any questions related to creativity. I will tackle your question every week.

I have been having the same routine for quite a while. It stops new ideas to come to my mind. I would like to share some useful solutions to get out of a creative rut with you.

Stop working on your creative projects

New ideas usually come when you are relaxed and not thinking about it. Let your mind wander for some time when you take a walk or do a workout. Take notes on these ideas for creative projects in the future. Enjoy your time when you are not working.

Ask for feedback

Asking feedback from others gives you a different perspective on your project. You will learn from constructive criticism where you can improve. Ask feedback from someone who does not do any creative work and someone who does creative work for work. Each of them would give you the feedback that you need.

Listen to new music that you would never listen to

It would become a routine and get bored when you listen to the same playlist. Start listening to music that you have never listen to. Create a new playlist every month to let new ideas come.

List 20 things that you enjoy but have not done in a long time

You can start to add these things to your list of artist date. It can be anything from painting to having an indoor picnic. You can get more inspiration from this article.

Do something new in your routine

It can be going to a different park where there are fewer people or more space. The new scenery would inspire you with new ideas. You can read a book in a different genre. You can add different ingredients to your meals. You may discover a fresh combination that excites you.

Read fiction books

Reading more fiction books than usual can stimulate your brain when you emerge into the fictional world of the book. I have been reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It shocked me and helped me discover a different side of humanity, which will help me to write poetry from a different perspective.

Use Six Thinking Hats technique

Using this technique can help you look at the same subject matter from different perspectives. Remember to use one at a time, otherwise it would not help. Using this technique will help you avoid blind spots as you are looking at the creative problem with a different viewpoint. You can use this technique on your own or with your team.

White hat

You focus on the data that is available to you. Look at the information, analyze trends from the past and see what you can learn from it. Learn or consider the areas that you do not know yet.

Red hat

You look at the creative problem with your intuition, gut feeling and emotion. Think how others or customers would react to the problem emotionally. Try to understand people who do not fully know your reasoning.

Black hat

Look at how the problem can go wrong. Try to think about why the decision may not work. It highlights the weak spots and helps you to eliminate or change it. Black hat thinking helps to make your decision to endure obstacles and prepare you for obstacles.

Yellow hat

Think positively at the problem. You will see the benefits of the decision. It helps you to get through difficult times.

Green hat

Use your creativity without limits when you are using the green hat. No ideas is bad when you are using a green hat.

Blue hat

Blue hat is usually used by people chairing meetings. It can be used to direct to direction of the team and which hat to use at a certain time.

Try a new work routine

Maybe you have too much or too little on your plate. You need to adjust the amount of workload you have. Maybe your routine becomes too rigid for you to have new ideas. You can list all the non-negotiable tasks for each day but not use time-blocking. That may give you more creative space for you.

Try to create a system for administrative tasks and email. Set a time in the afternoon where you would work on them. Mornings are best for creative projects.

Focus on a few main projects

When you have much to work on, focus on a few main projects that you want to focus on. Cut back on the rest. You do not need to stop all of a sudden but reduce the time you spend on the projects that is less important for now. If you feel overwhelmed by the internet and social media, block some hours for time off and/or focused work time without distractions. These are some tools that can help you to focus better.

Work according to your emotions

I stumbled upon this blog post where Sean suggests which tasks to work on according to our emotion. It is a great way to work on different aspects of a creative project.

When you feel creative or thoughtful, write a blog post or write your book. When you feel energetic or excited, record a video or podcast. Since I do not record video or podcast, I allocate the time to write. When you feel bored or critical, edit what you wrote or recorded. When you are thinking a lot or feel curious, watch some videos or read articles or books on the topic of your interest. If you feel overwhelmed or not want to do anything, go for a walk, a run or do some exercises. You would feel refreshed afterwards.

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I value your feedback, suggestions, constructive critiques, compliments, etc. If you have anything creative that you want to send me, send it to celestetsang@gmail.com

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