doing it wroWe can all have those times when things grind to a standstill. We will have plans that aren’t coming to fruition, hopes that aren’t being realised, our creativity will have crashed and burned, and we’re running but making no forward progress at all. It will feel like nothing is working.

It can be really challenging to keep up your motivation and I’ve uncovered a few tricks to help me in these times of need so I thought I’d share them with you today.

  1. Go outside and move your body. Sitting at your desk and glaring at your computer screen with frustration will not force your creativity to appear. Instead your creativity will wander off on its own to have a cup of tea elsewhere. Feeling the sun on your face will remind you how wonderful the natural world is and moving your body will get you out of your head (where over-thinking reigns supreme).
  2. Help someone else. When you feel like your stuff isn’t working, no matter how you try, it’s probably a good time to help someone else. It’s a true maxim that what you get is what you give in this world. So go out there and give just because you can. You’ll make someone else’s life easier and helping someone is a reward in itself.
  3. Take a different perspective. If things are stagnating then maybe you’re just doing it wrong. Take the time to step back and look at your situation from a different perspective. Consider if there is a completely new approach you could take. Ask someone else for their opinion if you think it will help. It could be your roadblock is actually forcing you to get on the right track in another direction.
  4. Take a creativity break and fill up your well. We all have activities that fill us up and make our souls sing. For me, I can walk into an art gallery, read a good book or wander through a library and instantly feel more centred, peaceful and happy. These things don’t cost me a cent either! So if you’re stuck, stop hitting your head against the brick wall (you’re just going to hurt yourself) and do something that fills your soul. Gift yourself an hour or an entire day to do that thing. I guarantee you will come back feeling refreshed and a lot calmer about the situation.
  5. The timing is wrong. Sometimes we’ll really want something to happen but the timing will just be wrong. And it won’t matter what you do, it just won’t happen when you want it to. So, if you’ve done everything you can and it’s still not happening, let it sit. Go and do something else for a while. Things happen when they’re supposed to.

I’m off for a creativity break now!