4 tips to get unstuck
Last week, I was creatively stuck.
Every Friday, I send out a newsletter, but by last Wednesday morning, I hadn’t written anything because it was a busy week spent completing other projects.
That morning, the only task on my to-do list was “write the newsletter.”
But what did I do?
I decided to read a book for 45 minutes and then I spent an hour on social media and YouTube. In the throes of procrastination, I did whatever I could to avoid writing.
By 10:30 am, with no work done, I went on a walk.
Despite the continued procrastination, the walk ended up being helpful because it gave me time to think and talk to myself.
Considering how much I resisted writing, you might think I don’t want to write, but that’s not true. I do want to write. Writing is one of my favorite things, and I want to send out a great newsletter consistently.
So what was the problem?
As I started moving and thinking, I asked myself similar questions. “Jonathan, you want to write. You have time to write. What is holding you back? What’s getting in the way?”
As I sorted through what was going on in me, I stumbled upon four helpful insights I want to share with you.
If you find yourself creatively stuck or procrastinating on a project, it might be helpful to consider these four insights into human nature and the creative process.
1. A lack of clarity equals a lack of motivation
When I asked myself, “What’s getting in the way of my writing today?” The simple answer was that I didn’t have clarity on what I wanted to write about. I had a long list of ideas, but on Wednesday morning, I didn’t know which one to pursue.
Sometimes, we struggle with motivation, not due to a lack of want but a lack of clarity.
If I had known what I wanted to write about on Wednesday morning, doing the work would have been much easier.
Even though it was another form of procrastination, the walk was helpful because it gave me time to think and gain clarity about what I wanted to accomplish. After the walk, I was highly motivated to move forward because I gained clarity on which idea I wanted to write about.
2. One bucket at a time
Over the years, it’s been helpful for me to define three distinct buckets in the creative process. I get bottlenecked if I try to operate in more than one bucket at a time.
And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday morning. Because I was running low on time to create my newsletter, I was trying to operate in multiple buckets simultaneously.
The three buckets of my creative process are:
Ideation/brainstorming - gain clarity about my ideas and which one I want to pursue next.
First draft/brain dump - write down everything in my brain.
Editing - organize and perfect the creative work.
I planned to “write the newsletter” on Wednesday morning, but that was unhelpful because it wasn’t clear enough. It caused me anxiety because I wasn’t all that sure what I should be doing. I felt like I was wasting time if I wasn’t literally writing.
A better plan would have looked something like this:
8:00 am - Go through my idea bank and pick an idea to pursue
8:30 am - Brain dump the chosen idea
9:30 am - break
10:00 am - Organize and write the first draft of the idea
11:30 am - Edit the idea and run it through Grammarly
3. Change your environment
I love my office. Over the years, I’ve invested in giving it an aesthetic and a vibe that helps foster my creativity. For my birthday, I was gifted this cool new computer keyboard that looks and sounds like a typewriter (thanks, Emily!). This keyboard makes me want to write.
I’ve also habitually created many things in this space over the years, so I get a lot of creative energy from being in my office.
Even still, changing my environment was incredibly helpful this past Wednesday. Getting outside and moving helped unlock my brain and my creative thoughts.
If you’re feeling creatively stuck or zapped, try going somewhere new. Sit on the porch, go to a coffee shop or the library, or move to the kitchen table. It’s surprising, but changing our environment can be tremendously helpful.
If there is a space where you create most often, it might be helpful to invest in the aesthetic of your environment. Something as simple as a new lamp, a candle, or a keyboard that mimics a typewriter can help with your creative energy. Do we need these things to create? No. But, plenty of creatives have testified to the value of changing their environment and finding or investing in a creative space.
4. Change the mode or form of creating
Once I had an idea, I was desperate to capture my thoughts.
I had a moment where I felt anxious because I wasn’t at my computer jotting down everything in my brain about the idea I had chosen.
But then I remembered that I could open the notes app on my phone, hit the little dictation microphone button, and start talking. On my walk, I worked through my rough draft by talking out loud to myself.
Sometimes, I need to sit at a computer and type out my thoughts. Other times, I need to grab a pen and one of my pocket field notebooks and write out my thoughts in analog. And then there are times when it’s helpful to talk out loud to my phone or my wife.
Changing the mode or form of creating can help unlock creativity. If you’re stuck, try using new tools, technology, and forms in your creative work.
It’s also helpful to develop a few modes of creating so you can capture and create in various settings. For example, if I only write songs when I have a guitar in hand, I miss the opportunity to write a song while waiting in the lobby of the dentist’s office.
Optimizing my creative process
Despite my procrastination and angst, I got a newsletter written and sent last week.
I felt good about the final product, but the creative process was stressful. That’s going to happen from time to time, but where possible, I want to do my best to optimize my creative process because I don’t just love my final creations; I also enjoy the craft and art of creating. I don’t want to steal the joy of creating from myself by because I’m getting hung up on the same issues and creative blocks.
