Last week I talked about creating stickers and the process that got me to that point, and in previous posts, I have also been talking about different ways that I have been trying to curate and facilitate inspiration for myself. The truth that we all know is sometimes I just we just don’t feel that inspired, so I wanted to provide a list of things that I do when I am “not feeling like it”.
1.Take a Break.
The first most obvious thing to do when you don’t feel creative, is to take a break. I like to spend time doing something that is unrelated to my original objective. Naturally, our brains will stew and collect thoughts and things that you have seen and find to be interesting. Consider something new and keep it to stew.
2. Manage your Expectations.
When doing something new or coming back from a long break, it is common to experience a bit of lag and frustration. Because of the lack of work, it is inevitable to feel a little rusty- the best way to combat this is to be nice to yourself and have a bit of compassion for yourself. Trust the process and your instincts and manage your expectations. Allow yourself to screw up and then before you know it, you are back or better than normal.
3. Utilize Social Media.
Social media is the best way to help your brain stew. When I have lost all hope of being creative, social media is there to present me with thousands of other people’s ideas. Now, this can get tricky, because the goal is not to steal work, but, to let other people’s ideas fertilize your own. It is important not to redraw or repaint work without giving proper recognition to that person and it is safe to say that you shouldn’t seek payment or recognition for someone else’s work.
4. Gift Yourself Another Experience
Being a creative individual comes with a lot of uncharted territory. Because there are so many options and often, so many things to do, a lot of us face burnout- It’s human. But, to avoid burnout, it is important to remember that we must gift ourselves things. Do something that you have been afraid of or didn’t have the time to. Always working is dangerous for anybody, but if you don’t have the luxury of taking a break, something like watching a movie or taking time to do something that you otherwise wouldn’t have time for feels great. Gift yourself another experience.
5. Brace Yourself for “Feeling Like It”
It is important that you only go back to working when you feel motivated to. Too often, I burn myself out and I forget to enjoy the process. When you are ready to get back into things, let yourself and if you are not, it is important to allow yourself the time to want to go back. This is one of those things that you just know. Sometimes it takes a day sometimes it takes a month.
If you can’t afford time off, schedule a time to try these things. It is easy to fall down the trap of doing, but finding purpose and a pace that works for you is more important than anything else.
Remember that sometimes you should relax if you can.