Stuck in a Creative Rut?

I'm sure many of us have experienced this: it's time to work on a project that requires a little creative thinking, but you're finding it really hard to get going, so you put it aside to work on some other menial tasks that you deem more pressing at the time. And you're probably getting a little stressed out because you just can't seem to get out of your creative rut.

If you've ever found yourself in this situation, I strongly suggest that you check out this article, "Getting Around the Block," by Laura Sommers, on the VMSD.com website. It turns out that creator's block isn't your fault! It's actually due to your brain's physiological response to the stress you're feeling about not being able to create.

I won't get into the details here. You can read the article for that, but what I will share is what I found most interesting -that there are warning signs that your creative brain is starting to be taken over by your instinctual brain.

If you find yourself

• postponing starting the project,
• starting the project and suddenly "needing" to do five other things first,
• sitting down and then popping out of your chair,
• looking for answers at the water cooler or refrigerator,
• staying busy with less meaningful or lower priority tasks,
• endless research beyond what's really needed,
• trying to involve others or dumping it on someone else's desk,
• being critical of yourself,
• being critical of others, or
• feeling rigid, not being open to new ideas,

odds are that you're either already in or on your way to a creative funk.

So how does one get out of it? Well, you'll just have to read the article to find out!


-- Larry Myer (Connect with me on LinkedIn.)