There are times when I sometimes need a boost to fuel my creativity. These times can be vexing especially because I rely on my creativity a lot in my life. These dry seasons of creativity can make me feel like a blank page and make me question my skills. Creativity cannot be forced but sometimes there are deadlines for creative work. If you have ever felt or are currently feeling uninspired and having a creativity block don’t worry. The good news is that these are temporary.

Here are some tips I learned over the years that can help inspire me when I feel stuck:

1- Talk to a friend. Many times what helped me to get out of a creativity slump was talking to someone about what I was trying to do creatively or even venting to a friend about how I couldn’t think of anything to do. Just talking about my task can help me see it from a different perspective and start to leave the thought patterns that I feel stuck in when I’m just ruminating on my own. The input and perspective of another person can be very helpful and their creative thinking can inspire mine as well and get the ball rolling.

2- Have some change of scenery. When I feel stuck and uninspired, choosing a new location to do work helps a lot. The new location breaks the mundane atmosphere and makes me more curious about my surroundings. As a result, it allows me to open up to inspiration. My favourite spots to go to for inspiration are libraries, parks, and coffee shops. When I browse in libraries, I find books that I would not think of reading otherwise. Parks are nice to be close to nature, and in my experience nature can be very inspiring. Coffee shops are places where there is a lot of movement as people come by which gives a freshness to the place that can be nurturing creativity.

3- Browse on Pinterest. When I seem to already have a vague idea or direction, I know I want to move forward creatively, but I struggle with visualising the details I go on Pinterest. Pinterest is an app where you can search images and articles based on search words. By searching vague and broad categories Pinterest will show a lot of content related to the search. The content you like can be saved to board, which makes it easy to save and collect all the content that seems useful and inspiring. Moreover, it allows you to look at all the saved content at once as a collage. So, it can help with visualising the bigger picture from the small details.

4- Create an idea map. Sometimes, I have many ideas, but I don’t know which one to choose or which direction to take my project. It may seem good to have lots of ideas, but it can feel like I have none at all if I can’t decide which one to choose. One of the things that help me find direction is creating an idea map. You only need a pen and paper for this. Write all the ideas all over the paper as if it was a cluster of words. Then try to find connections between the ideas. Questions to ask during this exercise are: what do these ideas have in common? How can some of the ideas become integrated into each other? You can draw arrows to connect the ideas by connecting them in some way.  The best part of creating an idea map is that it allows you to work with the ideas you already have and not be tempted to create new ideas. As a result, the integration and inspiration to find a solution can be easier and then you can continue on your creative journey.

5- Go for a run or a walk. Going for a run or a walk is not only good to maintain physical health, but it also allows me to be alone with my thoughts without distractions. Most of my creative thoughts come to me when I have the time and space to be alone with my thoughts and not worry about anything else. The mind can roam free and surprise you with creative thoughts.

I hope that these tips are helpful if you’re in need to spark your creativity and I wish you the best on your creative journey.

Main Photo Credit: Mark Fletcher-Brown on Unsplash