I recently watched Lucy’s video on curing writer’s block and I could really relate to what she said about needing a creative glow-up. Over the last year, I’ve been working on finding more time to create and making it a bigger part of my life but there are, inevitably, ebbs and flows. Here’s what works for me when I need to reset my creativity.
Change your surroundings
A change of scenery makes such a difference to your creativity levels. I find I’m most inspired when I’m travelling, absorbing new cultures, soaking up a different way of living and trying new things. But that’s not possible all the time so a quick fix is to go for a walk or a run after work, taking a trip to somewhere new at the weekend and spending as much time as possible in nature. Getting away from that blank page/screen/canvas is sometimes exactly what you need for a change of perspective.
Take a class
This has been on my yearly goals list for probably the last two years but I’ve finally ticked it off this year. I went to a lino printing workshop with friends recently, which I absolutely loved and now have a new-found obsession (another creative hobby is exactly what I need, right?). Sign up for something you’ve always wanted to try, even better if you can take pals with you!
Seek inspiration
Actively absorbing art, films, books and any other creative output is a great way to get inspired. If I book an exhibition, take a trip to the cinema or set aside time in my day to read, I start to think about why I like it (or not) and pull apart the fibres of what makes it that way. Digging into something the way is made always makes me want to get creative again. A recent cinema trip to see Past Lives is such a good example of this, it’s such a simple but beautifully shot film and it left me wanting to just sit with the feelings it brought up afterwards. I wrote a full review over on my substack if you want to check it out!
I also enjoy tapping into trends and trying things out as a non-committal way to get creative, a couple of recent TikTok trends I’ve enjoyed are the ‘weekly R.E.P.O.R.T’ and ‘art of noticing’ videos that just celebrate capturing little moments of daily life.
Run the tap
Something we used to do a lot at university in creative writing seminars was starting the session with free writing. Sometimes there would be a set topic, an image or scenario to kick start us. The idea was that it didn’t matter if the writing was bad, no one was going to see it, but it got words onto paper and ideas forming. I call this process running the tap and it’s something that translates into all forms of creativity, it can look like just putting pen to paper and scribbling out some sketches, or free writing, or just making marks on a page. Sometimes the only way to start is to start.
