How to Be Creative Even When You Don't Feel like It

As a full-time freelance writer, being creative is what I do. If I'm not creative I don't make money, and if I don't make money, my bills don't get paid. So, if for some reason I find myself unable to come up with creative ideas, it can really mess up my life. So what do you do when you don't feel like being creative, or you just can't be creative?

There are a number of things you can do to help spur your creativity for those times when you are just stuck. Here are some tips for boosting the creative process.

1. Whatever you do that requires creativity, whether it be writing, painting, or coming up with a new service plan for your company, if you find that you just can't come up with new ideas, then walk away. That's right, get up from your work area and walk away. Sitting there staring at the computer screen, the canvas, or the wall isn't going to boost your creativity, you're just going to stay stuck. Walk to Starbucks or some other coffee shop and get your favorite latte, go in the lunchroom and read a magazine for twenty minutes, take your lunch break, whatever, just get away from your work area. Many times just seeing other surroundings will help your mind to come up with ideas.

2. Take a day or two off. If you can afford it, and if you can do it without ticking off everyone at work, take some time off. Generally speaking when you find you cannot be creative it is because you've been staring at the screen, the canvas or your desktop for way too long. Your brain is just tired and it's not going to work any faster or come up with any better ideas if you stay in the same place doing the same thing. You're just going to get even more stuck, and no creativity will ever come from that stuck place. Trust me I know, I learned it the hard way.