Tips for overcoming creative block

Surely more than once it has happened to you: you’ve been working on a project for hours and you’ve hit a wall, unable to figure out how to proceed. Or you’re trying to start and no good ideas come to mind.

It’s happened to me countless times, and that’s because, sooner or later, we all encounter the dreaded «creative block».

Creative block manifests when we surrender to established patterns. That is, when, as a survival mechanism, we switch on autopilot in our brains and, as a result, stop creating. It’s often a defense mechanism: if we have feelings of stress or lack confidence in our abilities, it’s easier for our brain to do nothing than to do something and have it go wrong.

Blockage can also arise from a simple lack of creative stimuli. Our creativity arises from the connections we make between different ideas and concepts. If we close ourselves off to external influences or the idea of ​​trying new things, or if we simply exhaust these resources, it becomes more difficult to develop original solutions.

That’s why it’s very important to take a few minutes to identify the factors causing our state of inaction.

Broadly speaking, we can identify 3 types of creative blocks:

Immediate creative block: stress Ah, stress! Surely by now you know it well. In a stressful situation, our brain can be «overwhelmed» by the circumstances and become blocked, which paradoxically feeds our sense of stress even more. To deal with it, the best thing you can do is:

Practice Mindfulness or full awareness. One of the trendiest exercises to combat stress. By connecting with the present moment, we deactivate our brain from automatic mode and give our mind a well-deserved break. Change activity. One of the most well-known tricks for overcoming a block is to «clear your mind». After absorbing all the information you need for your project, focus on a different activity that absorbs 100% of your attention. By doing this, you set aside automated thoughts and allow your brain to be creative. Temporary creative block: routine Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, … and repeat. Routine itself is not bad, as humans need a minimum of stability to feel secure and in control. However, creativity can be affected by an excess of routine, as everything is so predictable that our brain does not receive new stimuli to be creative.

Identify the patterns you follow and modify them. Or in plain language: change your routine! As Julia Cameron explains, author of «The Artist’s Way», creativity is like a well that needs to be filled with new images and experiences. Trying a new recipe, listening to music you wouldn’t normally listen to, or striking up a conversation with a stranger are experiences that have the power to broaden your horizons. Even something as simple as taking a different route to work can give your brain a break from routine and help you see things in a new light. Structural creative block: the void Or also known as the «fear of the blank page.» Sometimes, you may find yourself paralyzed by the idea of ​​not being able to create something «original» or «good enough». In this situation, my recommendation is:

Expose yourself to uncertainty and dare to experiment. Do something for the first time. Keep your vision even if it’s outside the established norms. And stop judging yourself so harshly! This will help you prioritize yourself, your ideas, and free yourself from the pressure of expectations. I remember the episode of Abstract in which the illustrator Christoph Niemann talked about his personal Instagram project, Sunday Sketching, where he posted illustrations made from everyday objects. As a professional illustrator, his work is always very planned, but with this project, he allowed himself the luxury of experimenting. «The lack of planning opens a new door. It’s very tough, but it leads to magical moments,» Niemann said.

Experimentation is key to exploring new paths and fostering our creativity. Above all, it helps us free ourselves from prejudices or self-imposed barriers and allows our imagination to fly freely.