Life
3 Ways to Keep Your Creative Juices Flowing When You Feel Uninspired
Living in the Age of Information has its pros and cons. On the upside, we have immediate access to what seems like a limitless pool of information about anyone and anything known to mankind. On the downside, we have immediate access to what seems like a limitless pool of information about anyone and anything known to mankind.
For creative entrepreneurs, having this kind of access works well when it ignites a new idea, provokes an innovative thought or it opens up the door to grasp a new perspective. But more often than not, being plugged into the digital realm can feel suffocating when one is attempting to separate themselves from reproducing what is already in circulation.
Creativity is a gift that everyone has access to but not many know how to unwrap. It’s easy to get intimidated when you feel like what you produce is lackluster, even when you get tons of compliments.
It’s a normal feeling to want to be innovative and to want to be the one who introduces the next best thing to the world. Nonetheless, when it doesn’t happen as easily as you expect, you feel burnt out, uninspired, and frustrated.
Well, being creative doesn’t have to feel like just another “thing to do.” There are ways to get excited about your work in away that makes you leap at the opportunity to create something new again and again.
If you feel like you have too many bouts with the bug that steals your creative flow, here are three tips to help you shift your mind from being stifled to flowing so you can create again:
1. Change your environment
For creative entrepreneurs, inspiration is everything. Seeing the same walls or looking out the same window day after day can be a downer. Sometimes your creative mind needs a jumpstart.
You can do this by switching up where you choose to do your work. If you typically spend the majority of your time working from your office, leave your office, and find a local coffee shop to work from for a few hours.
Take in the sounds you hear, the aromas in the air and even people watch for a few moments. People alone are creative beings and you may pull a bit of creative energy just from being in a different room with people you’ve never seen before. The hustle and bustle of having others around you going to and from may keep your mind refreshed. Believe it or not, a little distraction may prove to be exactly what you need.
“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.” – Bruce Lee
2. Change your established pattern of work
If you’re used to being a night owl because you think that your best work is done at 2am, try going to bed early and setting an alarm to wake up at 6am. If you’re not a morning person, you don’t have to adopt a new routine, just try shifting your thought process to thinking that you work well at any time of the day or night.
Whatever you tell yourself becomes your reality. Resist the urge to meander through your day hoping that when the moon is high, you’ll get a jolt of inspiration.
Sometimes an interruption in your regularly scheduled work pattern can be the catalyst in bringing forth your nest best project.
3. Change your mindset
One of the biggest blockers of creativity is the desire to be perfect or to outdo what you did the last time you had a creative itch. This desire often morphs into writer’s block and a lack of inspiration.
This desire also turns the pressure on and extinguishes the vibe you need to allow freedom in your work process. When you attempt to work under pressure, you leave little to no room for your mind to download new information into your creative system. So, don’t be too hard on yourself, just aim to produce and get results.
“My dad encouraged us to fail. Growing up, he would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.” – Sara Blakely
No matter if you take a small step or a large leap, any forward movement is progress. Someone once said that doing something new may bring you new results. If you want to get your creative juices flowing, do things you’ve never done. Try at least one of these tips today and see what difference it makes today.