How To Beat a Creative Block

(Written by guest contributor Sarah Beek)

There is nothing worse than sitting down to work on a project only to find that what you attacked with exhilaration the day before now seems about as appealing as a box of rocks. You check your email again, waste a little time on your favorite time-wasting blogs, think of something that needs buying, and then proceed to spend precious time researching and buying it. What is this kind of behavior all about? Where do creative blocks come from? How can a project or idea seem so exciting one day and so life-sucking the next? Why do we spend hours of our lives that we will never get back in actions that take us away from our goals instead of ones that bring us closer to our goals?

It may be helpful to look at some of the root causes of creative blocks so that we can know exactly what we’re dealing with. That way we can recognize them when they pay us one of their dreaded visits.

1. Boredom – Maybe you’ve been working on a certain idea so much that you are sick of it, or maybe what seemed like a great idea yesterday now seems like a dumb idea. Your boredom with something might be an indication that you are headed in the wrong direction.

2. Negativity – If you are not used to seeing great ideas through, your brain, which is a creature of habit and often fears change, might take the reins and whisper things in your ear like, “It will never work anyway,” or “You don’t have what it takes to make this idea a reality.”

3. Self-Defeating Habits – There are so many distractions in our lives that these can crop up without you really noticing. Do you surf the Internet endlessly? Do you eat junk when you are feeling bored or blocked? Do you spend money needlessly?

4. Laziness – Even the most exciting idea takes hard work to flesh out, and work can be, well, hard. But it can be liberating to realize that what you thought was a creative block is really just your own reluctance to do some work. It means you can do something about it!

5. Resting on Your Laurels – If you have already accomplished a stage of your project, it can be hard to move on to the next step. It is all too tempting to bask in the satisfaction of having completed something, even if you are nowhere near the finish line.

So what is there to be done? Here are some things that are rumored to work:

1. Put Pen to Paper – Write out all aspects of your idea and fill up blank pieces of paper with it. Use the page to get out everything that is bothering you and anything that is on your mind that might be standing in your way. Either way, there is something about writing that helps clear your head and get your ideas straight.

2. Meditate – Sit on the floor and breathe, pray, or go outside and commune with a tree. The point is to clear your head of anything that is holding you back so that you can recharge your batteries.

3. Go for a Walk – Walk in town, walk in a field, walk the golf course, and know that some of the best ideas have come to people while on the move. The exercise gets your heart pumping and your blood moving, and before you know it, you’re ready to sit down and get something done.

4. Do Some Focused Research – The key word here is “focused.” Don’t just surf the Internet, surf the Internet with purpose. If you find inspiration in bookstores, make sure you go with a specific idea of what you’re looking for and what kind of information you need.

5. Get to Work – If part of your creative block is just good old-fashioned procrastination, then you have to force yourself over the hump. Remember inertia? An object at rest tends to stay at rest? Well, an object in motion tends to stay in motion, so get moving.

Use these suggestions the next time you’re feeling blocked, and watch your productivity skyrocket!