Every artist experiences a creative block, whether you are a writer, artistician, creator, or musician. I believe I speak for all when I say that these blocks are every creative person’s worst nightmare.
There may be times when you feel stuck at a certain place and can’t move forward with your creation.
Different people experience these blocks differently. So, what method may work for one, may not necessarily work for others. Hence, in this blog, we will discuss how long creative blocks last, and how to get over them.
How Long Does A Creative Block Last?
As mentioned above, everyone experiences creative block differently. Due to this, sometimes a block may last for a few hours, days, weeks, months, or even years. Some reasons for these blocks are a lack of self-confidence, inspiration, and ideas. This is something that can easily be worked on.
Speaking from experience, I had a creative block for 2 years that didn’t go away. The most crucial thing you need to understand during a block is that you should not give up. I lost all my self-confidence during the two years; every time I wrote something, I would end up hating it and feeling frustrated.
Sometimes, it’s all about letting time fix things, and changing certain things helped me get over it, and I am going to share them with you.
How To Get Overcome Creative Block
1) Take A Break
The first step is to take a break from what you are working on, it could be as simple as going for a walk while listening to music, watching a few episodes of your comfort show, or doing something that relaxes you.
Sometimes you may need a longer break or a day off, but don’t sweat it. Allow yourself and your mind to rest. I needed a break for a month before getting back to work, but luckily I had the opportunity to do so.
2) Create Your Network
One of the things that helps a lot of people is involving yourself in activities. For example, my friend loved poetry but had a creative block for over 6 months, he joined poetry groups where people would write and share their poetry. Being in the creative space allowed him to feel inspired. Moreover, when he felt stuck or had doubts, he easily sought guidance from other writers.
Similarly, I like creating content. However, since the past year, every time I created a video I hated the output. It made me lose hope and self-confidence. That’s when I decided to speak to my friends with more experience. I told him about my problem and asked him if he faced the same, having much more experience he told me reasonable solutions and helped me understand the core of my problem.
Hence, surrounding yourself with people from your network is extremely important. It will allow you to grow, and learn.
3) Ask Yourself Questions
Sometimes, asking simple questions can lead to significant breakthroughs. I recall a time when my brother was struggling to identify an error in his code. Coming from a non-technical background, I knew I couldn’t help. However, I decided to ask him questions about his work. While he explained the basics and the problem to me, he also shared why a particular solution wouldn’t work. I simply asked, “Why not?” This question prompted him to think differently, and he realized he could create an exception for the specific code.
This simple example shows how basic questions can help you overcome a block. You can also try asking people who have different backgrounds because it helps you see different perspectives.
Also read: Art as a Career: Turning Your Passion Into a Full-Time Career
4) Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
One of the most common mistakes that I made was to give up and wait for inspiration to strike. Sometimes it doesn’t, and if you depend on inspiration you will be stuck. You must get out of your comfort zone and try new things, it could be as simple as creating something you haven’t before, it allows you to try new things alongside practising your skill.
5) Practice Mindfulness
If you have tried different techniques and methods, but nothing works. Take some time and meditate. Meditation has numerous benefits and it will allow you to organise your thoughts.
Another form of mindfulness is to write down your thoughts, feelings, and ideas no matter how good or bad they may be. This process will allow you to visualise and understand where or why you feel stuck and may also help you get over a creative block.
6) Change your surroundings
Sometimes people suggest creating a routine to think and work. However, I believe that is a flawed advice.
Creativity doesn’t strike at a certain time, it takes time. What I believe is that one should make small changes. For example, if you work in your room all the time, go out to a cafe and work there. If you don’t prefer going out, you can make simple changes to your room such as changing the bedsheet, lighting up a scented candle, or simply rearranging some things in your room. This has personally worked for me a lot.
7) Set Realistic Goals
Setting goals and planning is an important part of getting things done. However, we must create realistic goals. We all know about creating goals but not many do it the right way, one must know how to create ways of setting goals to achieve success.