3 Strategies for Breaking Out of a Creative Slump

  • Ben Sheridan
It happens to us all. One day you feel your creative strength waning, like it’s being sucked slowly from your fingertips. The blank canvas stays blank, all words look the same, you’re not as quick in your photo edits. You’re unfocused, missing deadlines, and you wonder if anyone else notices. You’re officially in a creative slump.
Rest assured that every creative has had this experience. Luckily, a creative comeback can (and will) happen. Knowing with certainty, however, that your creativity will return doesn’t make the recovery any easier. Read on for our go-to process on how to speed up creative comebacks.

1. Forgive Yourself

Show yourself compassion. Being in a creative rut is a natural part of life that all creatives face.
Image by Lisa Alisa
The first step towards climbing out of a creative slump is to acknowledge that you’re in one—that you’ve hit a creative lull. And in that acknowledgement, it’s common to feel angry with yourself for your lack of good work, as if it is something you have caused. Yes, indeed, you may have caused it. Perhaps it was keeping your nose to the grindstone for too long or a build-up of stressful relationships.
This is a natural part of life that all creatives face, it’s not a reflection on the value or depth of your creative abilities. The key to living well is to show yourself compassion, and the sooner you can move on from your self-frustration, the sooner you’ll be back on a road towards your regular creative self.

2. Do Nothing

The best approach to boosting creativity is to simply do nothing creative at all.
Image by Racorn
Creativity, just like any muscle, tires and wears down. So oftentimes, the best approach to boosting creativity is to simply do nothing creative at all. Research shows that the following counter-intuitive activities can actually result in greater creative spurts down the line:
  • - go for a walk
  • - travel
  • - learn a new skill
  • - clean your entire office do your taxes
Removing the pressure to do any kind of creative work gives yourself a mental break, putting you back on the road to recovery quicker. Slowly, then, you can return to the things that give you creative inspiration, such as visiting museums, reading interviews of your idols, and so on. The creative comeback will feel a bit more in reach.

3. Fall Back on Process

Get back into the routine by going back into your studio.
Image by Rawpixel.com
Finally being ready to commit to the renewal of creativity doesn’t necessarily mean that your creativity is ready to flex alongside your desire to move forward. But it’s important to get going either way. Just going through the motions of creativity itself, whether or not the spark is there, can be inspirational. That’s why creative routines are so important. Need proof? Mason Currey outlines the routines of nearly 200 creatives in his book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work.The first step is the easiest—just show up:
  • - go to the office or studio
  • - pick up the paintbrush, even if only to stare at the canvas
  • - schedule your next project
Know, however, that showing up will not alway be fruitful. Julie Zhuo, product design director at Facebook, describes trying to paint while struggling creatively, “The darkness does not clear for miles. Your ego will take a bruising on those jagged walls. You may get lost for weeks or months or even years. And everything you produce while on this path will be garbage.”
Garbage output is normal when you’ve lost your creative mojo, as if there is a prerequisite amount of bad work before you get to the better side of the creative rut. Yet, the more you dig into your creative process, the quicker you’ll feel back to your old self.
Image by Dasha Petrenko
When you’re feeling like you’ve dried out the well of creativity, just remember that while time is the best soother, you can take control in speeding up your recovery. Soon enough, your comeback will be complete, and you’ll just be a regular, ol’ creative again!