How to rediscover your creative spark

It should be no surprise that I’m a creative person. I like to write, I love to bake, I like to take pictures and I share all of these things here on the blog. For the most part, being creative comes easily to me. It’s part of who I am. But, occasionally, my creative mojo can go missing. And, unfortunately, that’s happened quite a bit over the last 6 months. 

I’ve written before about how to avoid writers’ block, which can be a huge issue for any blogger. But, writing isn’t my only creative outlet. And it’s not the only one that can get ‘blocked’. Sometimes I’m just fresh out of new and exciting recipe ideas. Or a specific recipe just isn’t working. Or a food photoshoot just doesn’t want to come together. In those cases, my tips for overcoming writers’ block are pretty useless. So, today, I wanted to talk about a few things that can help get the other creative juices flowing.

1. Challenge yourself

Sometimes you just need to light a fire under your butt to get things moving. Take #pumpkinweek2015 for example. Before that week, I struggled to post even one recipe a week for the longest time. But, I gave myself a challenge to post four times that week and I did it. It wasn’t easy, but it helped me break out of the recipe rut I’d been in before. And I’ve since been sharing content a little more consistently. 

2. Try something new

Staying in your comfort zone can actually stifle your creativity. I tend to shy away from savoury recipes because baking is a lot easier for me. That being said, I can, and have, occasionally run out of baking inspiration. Usually when that happens, I just don’t share recipes. But last month, I decided to give a savoury recipe, this kale walnut pesto, a try and it was the most alive I’d felt in the kitchen for a while. Making that pesto actually ignited my passion for cooking again and I plan to share more savoury recipes from now on.

3. Take it back to basics

Conversely, trying new things can totally fail and obliterate your confidence and creative inspiration. When that happens you can give up, go sob into your pillow and not post anything that week. Which I have done before. Or, you can just do what comes naturally. I love making new granola flavours and coming up with new ideas for quick breads so that’s what I do when I run into problems. And it never fails to get me centred and back on the right creative track.

4. Take a course

It may be a hard pill to swallow, but your lack creativity can be due to a lack of knowledge. For example, photography has been challenging for me, because I don’t really know much about it. As a result, I sometimes have trouble translating my photo visions into reality. It got to the point where I would make something that tasted amazing, but never share it because the pictures just didn’t come out right. So I started looking into, and eventually taking, photography courses. I still have a lot to learn, but I have a lot less ‘blocks’ when it comes to photography these days. 

5. Remove the pressure

Stress can have a huge, negative impact on your creativity. Having to turn out quality work on a set schedule gets old quickly. So, if you find yourself dreading your ‘work’ times and procrastinating more than usual it may be time for a break. I much prefer sharing quality content when I’m back in my grove instead of posting any old thing just to meet a quota. Plus, it’s awesome to get in the kitchen and cook just because, without deadlines bogging you down.

What about you?

• Do your creative juices ever stop flowing?
• What do you do to rediscover your creativity?

Share in the comments below!

 

 

 

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