12.24.20
“umm …. how do i get out of this creative rut?!?!”

In all of my years of creating, there have been many times where I had days, weeks, and even months of taking breaks from creating due to a lack of motivation. I’ve learned a lot about those breaks and I’ve also learned a lot about what to do during and after the curse of a creative black hole. Here are 5 small, but very important, things that have helped me find the light of creativity again:
1. take care of yourself .
you can try and try and try, but without the proper amount of rest, a healthy diet, a positive mindset, and an organized mind, trying to create anything will be a living hell. if you’re not well rested, you’re obviously not going to create your best material. So try your best to not play yourself and try to create with a tired mind and body. this also plays into having a healthy diet. if you eat and drink the right things, your body will have the correct energy it needs to help you out while you create. if you don’t, well it’ll be lights out for you, 24/7. when your body is healthy it’s easier for your mind to be healthy, so make sure positive vibes and affirmations are in your daily creative routines. it’s much, much easier to create when you’re in a positive headspace than a negative one.
2. be okay with making bs.
let’s be clear. there isn’t one creative who hasn’t screwed up a few times before making a masterpiece. if you thought it wasn’t going to happen, you are sadly mistaken, my friend. mistakes are apart of life, let alone creativity, so dodging them is inevitable. but guess what? it’s totally fine to make them! every experience is a good one because with every mistake that’s made, a lesson can be learned for the next time. so bs will happen and any creative will tell you that. you just have to accept it and also learn from it because that’s where the growth takes place, learning lessons from the mistakes.
3. realize everything will NOT be perfect!
i’d be a bald-face lie if i sat here and told you that everything you made was going to be perfect the first time around. perfection takes TIME, honey, and it’s not easy to achieve. but as long as you stay consistent and focused on your end goals, you’ll get there in no time. but please don’t feel like you have to be the perfect creative in order to be apart of the art community! because that’s so not the case. everyone’s creativity, experience, and skill is at different levels, and you have to respect the potential of everyone. but as long as YOU, the artist, loves the material you’ve created, then that’s all that matters and the perfection will follow close behind.
4. organize your thoughts.
please understand this. you will NOT be able to clear your head for making new content with 1001 things on your mind. realize the importance of organization and get your thoughts in order before trying to create anything. Get yourself a new notebook or planner and get those ideas in line! it doesn’t matter how your notes come out, because it’s only for your eyes! It only matters that you can understand your notes, but . also, learn the importance of bullet points and highlighters, more good organization tactics that have saved my life! lastly, try to plan out goals depending on your day, week or month. when you try to create without a plan its usually harder to finish whatever project/projects you wanted to create. I promise you, you’ll thank yourself in the long run.
5. relax. relax. relax!
listen. and listen to me well. if you are tired, depressed, anxious, exhausted, or anything other than well-rested and calm, you may as well trash the idea of creating. you HAVE TO be in the right headspace to create or you’ll just make yourself more frustrated and put yourself deeper into the rut that you’re trying to get out of. get the right amount of sleep. drink a gallon of water a day. exercise, stretch, and meditate daily. take a walk or go for a run outside. you have to put yourself in a serene and tranquil state of mind in order to have a beautiful creating time.
ok. so now that we’ve covered all of the things necessary to get yourself out of this horrible, draining, mind-consuming rut, I hope you got some tidbits to help you through your creative journey. it won’t be easy but with these important tips, it’ll be a little more bearable.
what are some things you do to get yourself out of a creativity drought?
-cj.