5 Ways To Deal With a Creative Block (That You’ve Probably Never Heard!)

affiliate links // Whether it’s a break-up, an illness or a freaking pandemic, chances are you’re going to experience a bit of a creative block as a blogger every now and again. The best among us will have a creative blog. You and I will too. Our creative juices can’t be flowing every damn second of the day.

Photo by chris panas on Unsplash

I’ve had a few of these blocks in the 7 years I’ve been blogging. There have been times where I’ve just stepped away completely, unable to look at my blog without wanting to hurl. Other times, I’ve taken breaks away from social media because that’s what I’ve felt like I needed.

Related read: Why You Should Have A Digital Detox (& What To Do Instead)

And there have been times where I couldn’t have come up with a single blog post idea even if you paid me.

Over those 7 years, I’ve definitely managed these blocks in different ways. I’m much better at managing these things now, after so much time and effort spent on personal development and life coaching.

But of course we all react in different ways. And if creative blocks (or bloggers block, if you like) are a relatively new thing for you and you’re finding yourself in the middle of one now and panicking that your blogging career is over…

First of all, take a deep breath. No need to delete your blog just because things are feeling a bit stagnant. 

When we consider everything is energy, energy needs a rest too. We can’t have our creative juices flowing and our ideas brimming all the time. We’d be exhausted. 

Which is why in this post, I’m not going to tell you how to get OUT of a creative block.

But consider this instead…

What if sometimes, a creative block, is what we NEED?

That’s right. So if you’re in a creative block right now, don’t worry. Honestly, don’t worry. Your mind, body and the beautiful Universe – they know what they’re doing. You’re exactly where you need to be.

But, our blogs are important to us right? Sometimes they’re our jobs or provide us with that extra income we need every month. So taking a month long break to watch Netflix and eat pizza isn’t always an option.

YOU CAN BE IN A CREATIVE BLOCK AND STILL THRIVE.

Let’s look at 5 ways we can start DEALING with creative blocks as bloggers, rather than pushing through them:

Ask yourself why you’re experiencing this block

This is the million dollar question. It’s not the block itself that’s the problem. It’s the reason why. You don’t just “get into a creative block” for no reason. Your creative juices don’t just go “that’s it, I’m outta here” for no reason. And it’s your job to figure out why.

This is where you don’t want to be pushing through it if you’re still feeling crap. Because guess what?

You’ll produce crap.

I’ll say it like it is because I’ve been there. There have been times where I have just not been in the headspace. I was having some sort of block. And I was producing RUBBISH. Like full on get in the bin rubbish. 

So, a good place to start here would be meditation and journaling. Ask yourself these questions:

• How long has this block lasted?
• What happened in my life directly before the block happened?
• How do I feel on a day to day basis?
• Is there something I’m not tending to in my life?
• Do I feel aligned with my blog right now?

Get honest with yourself here, nobody is going to see your answers except you. The reason I suggest meditating beforehand is because it helps clear and free up your mind for the answers to flow more naturally and not get interrupted every 10 minutes by your ego wondering what you’re having for dinner.

Remind yourself that it’s okay not to be online every single day

During a block, you might not want to be online. Which is coooool. But I know as bloggers, creators, influencers, whatever you want to call us, guilt can sometimes creep in when we’re not online and update the world on our daily activities.

You think people will forget you. You’ll worry people will un-follow you. You’ll worry you’re going to miss out on something exciting or important.

If it was that important, it’d be on the news.

So get offline if that’s what you need to do and be unapologetic for it. Delete your social media apps. Throw your phone down the toilet. Whatever you gotta do. If social media is influencing your block, it’s not the place you want to be nor is it the place that will help you find your way out.

Spend this time doing the background work

Like I mentioned above, creative block or not, blogging is sometimes our jobs. So we can’t just go “meh” and have a month off. Which is fair enough like. Bills and all that.

So during this time where you’re struggling creatively, it’s a great chance for you to put your focus on attention on all the OTHER STUFF.

Because any blogger will know that there is a lot of STUFF to do behind the scenes. 

Perhaps you can start updating your old blog posts for SEO and keywords? Learning about Pinterest? Brushing up on your knowledge of affiliate marketing? Fixing broken links? Building up your courage to pitch to brands?

Look there’s a ton of things to be getting on with, so use this time wisely. It might not be as fun or satisfying as creating content but you definitely won’t regret putting this work in afterwards. Here are some resources you might find helpful:

• Blog To Business: Your Pitching Toolkit (use code JENNY at checkout for 10% off)
• Keyword Research for Bloggers eBook
• Pinterest With Ell eCourse
• A Beginners Guide To Affiliate Sales
• A Beginners Guide To Growing Your Blog Following

Photo by Elle Lumière on Unsplash

Are you ready to uplevel?

Hear me out. We’re about to get a little woo here so if that’s not your thing, feel free to move swiftly on. But this is something I wholeheartedly agree with and have experienced myself.

Your intuition knows best.

Consider that you’re experiencing this block because you’re ready to uplevel. Perhaps you’ve been blogging for a fair amount of time and whilst you’re happy with how everything is going and it’s all ticking along nicely…

Your intuition KNOWS that it’s time for more.

So what it does is gives you that space and time to allow your juices and ideas to rest. And make room for the new ideas to shine through to allow you to take yourself and your blog to a whole new level.

Just something to think about.

Try not to force anything

And finally, don’t force it. Like you don’t force a fart, you don’t want to force this either. Because both are just going to end up messy as heck.

No, let it be.

Trust.

I know this will be hard. Because we’re all conditioned to want to “do”. Do all the things. Get those problems fixed. Sort it all out NOW or else. But what if we just let it be and sit in this energy and feeling and see what happens?

A creative block is there for a reason. Hopefully you’ll be able to establish your reason with the help of the journal prompts and these tips but whatever reason, we need to honor it. You’ll get back. I promise.

Have you ever been in a creative block? How did you deal with it? Will you be using any of these tips next time? Let me know!