My Three Favorite Ways To Get Out of a Creative Rut
You pour a cup of hot coffee (or tea if that’s your thing) and add a splash of your favorite creamer (I’m a french vanilla girl through and through).
You sit down at your computer and put on your blue block glasses. You kick off your smiley slippers and grab your office blankie (that’s a must in my book).
Finally, you pull up a fresh Google Doc with the title of your weekly blog post at the top and start to write…
But the words just aren’t wording and you’re stuck.
The content is there, buried somewhere in your brain, yet you’re met with a blinking cursor and suddenly a blog post that typically only takes you an hour or so has filled half of your day and the rest of your to-do list is totally neglected.
Would you believe me I told you that, as a blog writer, I have at least one day out of the week that looks something like that? ⤴️
It’s true. No matter how many blog posts I write for myself or my clients, I’m still highly susceptible to creative ruts just like this.
And if you’re a business owner who also plays the role of content creator, there’s a chance you’ve experienced something similar.
Whether it be for a blog post, social media post, email or even a response to a DM, we all find ourselves staring at a blank document from time to time wondering why in the world our brain can’t compute words!
When this happens, it can be incredibly frustrating – especially if you’re facing deadlines or if something reallyyyyy needs to be posted on your Instagram feed.
But I want you to know that this is completely NORMAL. Nothing is wrong with you as a business owner or creator when this happens! You have a ton of value bottled up inside and sometimes it just needs a little help getting out.
As someone who spends a LOT of time writing (like probably 25 hours or more out of the week), I’ve been forced to learn how to make my brain work even when it really just wants to call it quits and binge watch Gilmore Girls for the fifth time.
Overtime, I’ve discovered three of my favorite ways to get out of a creative rut and they aren’t as earth shattering as you might think…
Now before I tell you the three non-earth shattering things that I do (almost) daily I want you to know that as simple as they may seem, they really are huge difference makers.
And oddly enough they are backed by science!
Just the other day I was doing my morning reading in Mind Your Mindset by Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller and the chapter I was conveniently reading confirmed why these things work.
So before you write these off as “too simple,” promise me you’ll keep reading to understand why?!
Promise? K, let’s dive in!
3 Simple Ways To Get Out of a Creative Rut
Go for a walk
As an avid daily walker for about a year now, I can honestly say that my best ideas happen and I get more clarity when I let my brain rest.
This is something I prefer to do at the end of my work days to act as a “reset,” but it can really be something you do at any time of day that works best for you.
When I’m walking, I often listen to soft music, mindless podcasts where I don’t really have to pay attention or sometimes I'll simply walk in silence so that my brain is free to wander.
When you let your brain wander, you’ll usually be surprised by what it finds!
This is also why so many people are suddenly obsessed with the desk walking pads.
Not only can walking be incredibly vital for your health, it’s also been known to decrease your stress, put you into a creative state, improve your focus and fix your attention.
Take a shower
This one might sound weird, but I want you to think about it for a minute.
Have you ever been doing something mindless, like washing the dishes, driving down the road or taking a shower and you have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea?!
That’s because your brain is in its default mode which is self-directed.
Your brain has two modes: executive and default.
The executive mode is guided by your conscious self which means your brain will think about what you tell it to. This is the part of your brain that loves order, familiarity and predictability.
The default mode, on the other hand, is self-directed and operates out of your subconscious. This is the part of your brain that loves novelty and creativity.
In the book, Mind Your Mindset, they explain that in order to find creative solutions, we must activate the default mode and let our subconscious wander.
That’s why when you’re doing something mindless, you often have your best ideas!
Eat something
Lastly, viewing food as fuel is so key.
As a business owner with a packed schedule and long to-do list almost daily, I know what it’s like to forget to eat or go too long between meals.
That’s why I literally plan when to eat lunch (like for real, it’s penciled into my Full Focus Planner daily) because I know that food is actually fuel for my brain to do its thing.
I’m not an expert in nutrition and won’t claim to be, but I know enough to know that as humans we physically can’t do good if we don’t feel good… and personally if I’m not eating frequently, I don’t feel good.
I’m hangry and irritable which means any content that comes from me during this state most likely won’t be my best.
So, when in doubt – eat a snack!
The moral of the story is this: your best ideas and your bomb content probably won’t come to you when you’re sitting in a boardroom or forcing yourself to stay seated behind your computer screen.
Sometimes the key to getting out of a creative rut is to do something that feels counterintuitive.
For me, going on a midday walk usually feels disruptive for me because I see my massive to-do list and know that it needs to get done.
But usually that’s the very thing my brain needs – to be disrupted.
When I step away, I typically will come back ready to tackle the thing I’m working on and it usually turns out way better than I even thought it would!
Forcing myself to write a blog post or social media caption when I’m antsy and distracted will end up taking way longer than it needs to and often isn’t going to be my best work.
The key to all of this is recognizing your cues and paying attention to them so that you can effectively implement your own ways of getting out of a creative rut!
I’m curious – do you have any hacks like this that work for you when you’re distracted? DM me on Instagram and let me know!