The thing creative people fear most.

It happens to all of us, we hit a creative block or get stuck in a creative rut and nothing, no amount of sleep, coffee, alcohol, or other diversionary tactics seems to get the ideas flowing again.

As I was once told back at the start of my advertising career - not finding the idea is part of finding the idea.

Be it for a commercial/brand assignment or personal creative project, getting stuck in the mind mud is normal.

Repetition, routines, and complacency are all killers of creativity. Catching the same train every morning and ordering the same coffee from the same barista at the same coffee shop, sitting at the same desk looking at the same screen and the same photos and other mementos that adorn your office wall or cubicle, going to the same websites, eating the same things for lunch, so on and so forth. None of this is helping your creative situation.

Doing the same things day in and day out will not stimulate new ideas and fresh thinking.

Here are 20 ways to try and loosen up that clog in the idea canal.

1. Go for a walk. Yes, simple, but it can work. But don't listen to music, listen to the sounds around you. And don't look at your phone at all, not once during your walk, instead look around you, you never know what you'll see that may inspire you.
2. Completely change your morning commute as much as possible. If you catch a train then get off one stop before or after your regular stop (if that is feasible in your area) and walk back to your destination, and while you're doing that follow the steps in point #1. If you drive, ride, or walk to work take different routes. The important thing is to change your routine.
3. Don't order the same coffee from the same coffee shop every morning, do something different. Yes I know you love your coffee and that barista makes it just the way you like it but you are trying to bounce yourself out of a rut here, so you either want to change or your don't. It's a small sacrifice.
4. Go to an art gallery and soak up the visual stimuli. Again, no phone use allowed.
5. Go sit in a park armed only with a notepad and pen. Scribble, write, draw, do anything that comes to mind.
6. Watch the sky and the clouds. Get yourself comfortably horizontal on the grass in a park and just let your mind wander as you stare into the abyss. Again, no earphones playing the same old tunes in your ears, let your surroundings be your symphony.
7. Go analog. The computer is not a source for ideas it is a tool to execute ideas with once you have them. Pen and paper reigns supreme.
8. Do something you'd never expect yourself to do. Such as sign up for a tango dance class, a cooking class, even naked yoga. But make sure it is something outside of your normal behavior and comfort zone.
9. Go fishing. It doesn't even matter if you catch nothing but an old boot. The simple meditative action of standing by the water and listening to it can do wonders. Again, no phones or music. Just be present with your surroundings. I know this isn't for everyone for multiple reasons, but it is something I used to do a lot and found it great for clearing the mind.
10. Go to the beach and jump in the ocean - weather, seasons, and location permitting. It's even better if the water is chilly.
11. If you're an art based person spend a day just writing, no drawing or sketching allowed, words only. Write down anything and everything that comes into your mind.
12. If you're a writer do the opposite to the above, no words allowed, spend your day drawing, sketching, and scribbling. It doesn't matter if your drawing of a horse looks like a three legged kangaroo, you're doing this for your mind not a gallery.
13. Read comic books for a day. Why? Why not? It's not something you would do in your normal day (if you do then skip this suggestion and go read a book about ancient history or something different), instead of reading the same old blogs and Facebook updates read something you normally wouldn't to break the mind cycle. Plus there is nothing wrong with indulging your inner child, you should also do that more often.
14. Take up a musical instrument you have never touched or played and commit to practicing it. Push the creative part of your brain to learn something completely new. It could be guitar or ukelele, harmonica or the xylophone, whatever it is embrace it and put your mind to work.
15. Go to the movies. Grab yourself some popcorn and get lost in the story. Go alone so as you don't have that annoying friend asking questions throughout.
16. Go and see some live music, because dead music is really boring.
17. Cook. Maybe not for everyone but this is something I love to do when I want to break my thinking patterns. While you're chopping and prepping food you need to think about what you're doing, get distracted by that creative problem that's been bugging you while wielding a sharp knife and you could be known as lefty for the rest of your life. I like to put on some music, pour a glass of wine and bring my inner Chef to life for a few hours. Then sit down and enjoy the spoils with more wine.
18. Meditate. You don't need to do any special training to meditate, nor do you need to be wearing robes and burning incense. Just find a spot to sit, close your eyes and listen to your breathing, concentrate on it, do this for 5-minutes at a time.
19. Become anti-social for a day. Log out of Facebook, Instagram and whatever else you're using. Disconnect from it all and focus on your thinking, environment and ideas. Some distractions are good but some are not. You wont find the answer to your rut lurking within the newsfeed on Facebook, just a mix of bad news, memes, and cat videos.
20. Travel. Now of course most can't do this at the drop of a hat, but if you work for yourself and have the freedom and you are lumbering along in a creative rut you should consider packing a bag and taking off to a land far away that you have never visited before. The change of surroundings, people, environment, food, sounds, and smells will do wonders for you.

I hope some of these help. Just remember that every creative person finds themselves in ruts at some stage, and with that comes self doubt about your creative abilities. But don't worry, the creative part of your brain doesn't disappear, and although it is not a muscle it behaves like one. If you overwork a muscle at the gym it will get tired and wont function, you have to rest it and let it recover. The brain works the same way.

Happy thinking.

Rodd Chant

I'm a Creative Director / Writer / Strategist / Thinker and a bit more. I work with clients/brands directly and with agencies and production companies. I also teach creative thinking and idea generation to groups and individuals. You can read more of my LinkedIn musings here. You can also find me on Twitter,  Instagram and on Facebook. Or drop me an email – [email protected]

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