A creative block is not reserved for writers and artists. If you’ve ever sat motionless at a keyboard, unsure how to start the email you’re trying to write, you’ve experienced it. If you’ve procrastinated work on a report or status update because you don’t know where to begin, you’ve experienced it. If you’re pressing up against the deadline to submit your self-eval ahead of your annual review because you just don’t know where to begin, you’ve been stuck.
If you’re reading this article now (after you’ve organized your desk, tossed old files, and rooted through the snack options available to you) instead of making progress on the new client proposal waiting for your input, you’ve experienced a creative block. It happens to all of us – even the best of us.
There are a lot of reasons we get blocked and stalled. Understanding why can help us begin to move past it. When you understand what’s created the traffic jam of thoughts that are keeping you from progress, you can remap your route and make forward progress. Of course, sometimes, unpacking the why can create its own set of hurdles that lock you up and you may find that you just need to find a way to press forward without understanding the trigger in that moment. Either way, the following ideas may help get you rolling again.
If you’re leaping ahead from a blank page to outcomes… and then stressing about those assumed outcomes, you’re overthinking and it’s stalling your progress. Just take a deep breath. You can’t control the outcome. You can influence it, sure, but you can’t control it.
You can’t control the way others react to what you put on paper (or screen). You can’t control the way the market is going to react. You can’t control the way your client will receive your proposal. Instead of leaping through the mental gymnastics of measuring out each and every potential response to the thing you aren’t making progress on, turn your attention to what you can control.
Do your due diligence. Focus on facts and figures. Understand your audience. Set your goals. Put down on paper in the best way you can without worrying over what comes next. Edit. Polish. Submit.
Repeat after me: Sometimes good enough is good enough. Let go of the pressure to be perfect. If you’re sitting immobile because you’re worried about getting it all right, let it go. No matter how good you are, you won’t ever be perfect. No one is.
We can get so wrapped up in worry over making sure we’ve got not just got all the “t’s” crossed and the “i’s” dotted, but also that we look good and sound good while doing it. And that can stall progress. We’re striving for the unattainable. Take a deep breath and learn to embrace good enough.
While we’re on the subject, if you’re struggling to get started don’t even worry about the good enough part. This first step you’re not taking is really more about a rough outline in all its nitty gritty imperfection. There’s plenty of time for polish later. Don’t try to start at the final draft. Just get something on paper. Start with an outline. Start with a messy framework that can be rearranged and reworked. Just get something down on that blank slate before you.
Your to-do list is longer than your time-to-do budget. The panic is starting to build because this inability to progress is just adding time where you don’t have any time to spare. The overwhelm is beginning to snowball. Take a deep breath. You can’t do it all and you certainly can’t do it all at once.
Take a good look at the list of tasks before you. What can be delegated? What can be delayed? What really requires your attention and must be prioritized? Get a handle of your time budget and your task list. Open space to focus on the next bite instead of fretting about all that’s on your plate.
Sometimes, as we said before, there is no one reason for the creative block you’re working through. Sometimes even when we’ve solved the original clog, we’re still coping with inertia. You need to prime the pump.
Step away from this task and spark your creative flow with something totally different. Play some music. Doodle. Play a problem-solving game. Go for a walk. Sing a song. Dance like no one is watching. Create momentum. And then try again.
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