Clarity Helps Creativity: How To Undo Creative Block

"Sometimes the best thing we can do is show up"    

Creative block is the worst, especially when it goes for longer than a day or two.

Since you are part of my community, I thought I'd share with you something I've struggled with this week.

I usually send a blog post with the weekly newsletter, discussing personal development and performance. And it's eluded me the whole week. So sometimes, the best thing we can do is show up and hope the creative process shows up with us to create. 

This week, creativity must have been on vacation (for me). So have you ever had a bout of creative block?

 I call it creative block because it could be code, writing, performing, speaking, or anything creative. It's frustrating when it happens and can be anxiety-provoking if your profession depends on your creative output.

So how do you deal with creative block?

As a high performance coach, I know it's part clarity on what you need to produce, energy management, showing up to do the work, focus, and part community engagement.

In my instance, I usually have these emails and blogs done by Sunday, and I am writing this email on Monday because it's been slow going. 

The funny thing is when I decided to write about not being able to write, this email happened. Clarity helped me create!

So here are five high performance diagnostics to help you overcome creative block so it doesn't take a whole week to get back into your productivity:

1. How clear are you on what you want to create, on a scale of 1 - 10? If you are low, spend some time defining the problem you are trying to solve or the idea you want to convey.
2. How energetic and motivated do you feel, on a scale of 1 - 10? If your energy is low, take a long walk or work out your body and check-in after that.
3. How boldly are you taking action, on a scale of 1 - 10? What can you do to get started ASAP if you are avoiding your task? Are you avoiding asking for help or setting a boundary so you can work? How soon can you boldly have that conversation?
4. How productive have you been, on a scale of 1 - 10? If you score low, are you being distracted by something else? Are other priorities pulling you off of the things that matter?
5. How supported are you by your community, on a scale of 1 - 10? If you score low, who do you need help from to get into action? Do you have mentors or coaches you can reach out to cheer you on or guide you on your next steps?

As a coach, these are the diagnosis steps I generally use to help clients navigate creative blocks. And it's these steps, as I am writing this blog, that helped me write this blog!

If you need some extra help getting more consistent with your creative outputs and productivity, apply for a free one-on-one strategy session at: https://www.shawnbuttner.com/book