A Few Things To Do When You Feel Like You've Used Up All Your Good Ideas

The really ironic thing about this point is that I'm writing it because for the past few weeks I've had the fear creep in that I've used up all my good ideas and had a real creative block. And whether you have to be creative for work or for your own personal creative ventures you will know that sometimes your ideas just run dry and it's a scary feeling. Over the years of blogging and completing a creative degree, it's definitely something that I've run into and it always passes naturally but there are a few things that I've found can help to make it less scary.

WHAT'S GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE?

There is a big pattern that I've noticed with my creativity and my idea flow is that it mostly depends on what is going on in my personal life. The last month although you might not have been able to notice it because this blog has pretty much been running smoothly haven't been the easiest, I've been in hospital a lot and my physical health took a bit of a dip. And when you have a million other things running through your mind it's really difficult to pull on your creativity to serve you in the way that you want it to. Whilst it might seem stressful and upsetting it's totally normal, none of us are idea making machines and sometimes there will be dips and that doesn't mean you've run out of anything good to talk about.

ARE YOU CREATING FOR THE SAKE OF IT?

We can probably all relate to the pressure of wanting to constantly put something out whether that be a blog or Instagram post. Some people can create constantly and that's awesome but that's not the reality for many of us nor should anyone feel like they need to march to the beat of someone else's drum. It's not the end of the world if we don't upload to Instagram every day or constantly churn out blog posts and producing something you're proud at a slower rate is totally fine. The phrase quality > quantity is something we can apply to so many aspects of life and especially when it comes to creating content.

YOU WILL NEVER RUN OUT OF IDEAS

When your ideas really start to feel drained and like you're never going to think of anything amazing anything again you start to feel like you're just all out of them. But in reality we can never run out of ideas because for the most part an idea comes from a moment in time because of something in particular. We all have to carry on living and going through day to day life and when you stop looking for ideas they always arrive.

CREATE FOR YOURSELF BEFORE ANYONE ELSE

Especially as a blogger, there will be a part of us that will always want people to connect with what you're doing. And when you see those numbers growing and things seem to be going down well it can be so tempting to constantly create in the same vein so that it keeps on going down well. But something I believe is so important when it comes to creating anything whether it be a design piece, photograph or blog post is that you create it for yourself before other people. Because if you don't care for something or you're just doing it for the sake of it then it will never feel good.

THE INTERNET IS A BLESSING AND CURSE

I love the internet, it's one of my favourite places in the world but it's a blessing and a curse all rolled into one sometimes. There are so many ways that we can seek out inspiration online but more often than not I find that when I do that it means that I create content the same as what I'm consuming which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it just feels like it isn't authentic. A few years ago I started following the rule the I create before I consume so I stick to what feels right to me instead of creating something inspired by someone else's work.

FIND NEW INSPIRATION

We all have our own idea of what inspires us and for me I find it to change a lot, a big one is the season that we're in. In the warmer months, I find just getting outside for an hour or so a day is really beneficial to my ideas process and then in the Winter months I rely on likes of reading and listening to podcasts to inspire me. There are always a tonne of posts online about the best ways to find inspiration and they always have some great starting points but the most important thing is finding what's unique to us and it might change constantly but in general finding what feels good is something I know always works wonders. And finally, here are some quick fire takeaways from this post;