Unblocking Creative Blocks
A very real list of things that help me get unstuck when I’m feeling most uninspired.
Source: 13 Going on 30
Trust me, I get it. It’s so boring to read yet another article about how to suddenly cure your creative block, be productive, and get your bag. I can’t fix all of this for you, but what I can do is share things that have worked for me personally. Who knows, maybe there’s something in here that might help you.
Dust the cobwebs off.
Getting in the right headspace is half the battle, and your environment can make all the difference. Go for a short walk, do a 5-minute deep stretch, get your body moving. Think of it like physically clearing your mental block with movement. You’d be surprised at how it reduces your tension and boosts creative thinking.
Next, I get a caffeine IV straight into my arteries. Just kidding. This usually means a fresh cup of coffee for me, but you do you. Next is the playlist— I choose from my Spotify playlist based on the vibes. Chill Animal Crossing tunes, 2000s trip hop, upbeat K-pop, classic reggaeton, or 90s alternative are my usual go-to’s.
Steal like you mean it.
Open Pinterest, Dribbble, whatever your poison is, and just look. Not for "the answer," just for a spark. Save the things that make you go "ooh" without overthinking why. You're not copying, you're refilling the tank. Every creative person you admire has a folder somewhere full of stuff they didn't make either.
These are some of my favorite sources for inspiration:
Pinterest for color palettes, textures outside of your industry.
Dribbble for logo and UI inspiration. It has a great search by color functionality.
Really Good Emails for—you guessed it—really good email inspiration.
Coolors for ready-made color schemes.
National Gallery of Art for interesting motifs, historical reference, and color palettes.
Muzli for staying on top of design news, trends, etc.
Can I skip this step and jump straight to AI? Sure, but what you’re curating here is taste. You are collecting things that you find interesting or visually appealing. AI tools can expedite some processes, but it cannot account for human taste—that is where you come in as the expert.
Change the four walls around you.
If you've been staring at the same desk for five hours, your brain has clocked out even if you haven't. Move to the couch. Go sit at a coffee shop. New scenery tricks your brain into thinking it's a new day, and sometimes that's all it takes to shake something loose.
Give yourself permission to make something bad.
The block usually isn't "I have no ideas."
It's "all of my ideas suck."
So lower the bar to the floor. Make the ugliest, most half-baked first draft you can. You can't edit a blank page, but you can absolutely edit garbage. I promise I won’t judge—I too, have a design morgue.
Once something exists, your brain switches from "create" mode to "fix" mode, and fixing is so much easier than starting.
Source: @HLMKHLF
Set a timer instead of a deadline.
This one is one of my favorite ADHD hacks. Give yourself 10 minutes to just start, no pressure to finish. Nine times out of ten, once the timer's going, you keep going past it anyway. It's a mind trick, and it works embarrassingly well.
Talk to someone, even if it's just to complain.
Say the problem out loud to a coworker, a friend, your dog or cat, whoever's around. Half the time you'll solve it mid-sentence because hearing yourself explain it forces you to think it through differently than when it's just spinning in your head.
None of these are magic. Creative blocks aren't a switch you flip, they're more like a car battery that needs a jump. Some days it's a walk. Some days it's letting yourself write something truly bad on purpose (like this post!). Most days it's just picking one of these and doing it anyway, even when you don't feel like it. That's kind of the whole trick.
Happy creating, friend 😊
