I’m the reigning Miss Virginia of ideas. I get new ideas waaaaaay too often.
I’m sure, if you asked my husband, he would say that he wished I didn’t act on so many of my ideas. Like the time I decided I had to take pictures with a giant balloon and sent my husband on the hunt for one. He had to drive home clutching the balloon out the window, because it wouldn’t fit in our car.
Every once in a while, when I’m in the middle of one of these ideas–a project, DIY, blog post, photo shoot or video script, I get stuck.
Like quicksand, tires five inches in the mud, ain’t nobody goin’ anywhere kinda stuck.
That’s when my nifty friend tequila comes to play. Just kidding. Or am I?
Over time, I’ve developed non-drinking ways of dealing with that stuck feeling that makes you want to shave your neighbor’s ridiculously styled poodle. {Am I the only one who feels sorry for those dogs?}
Check out today’s video for five ways to mosey out of stuck-ville and leapfrog into a creativity hotspot.
Remember the videos I mentioned? Watch one of these to get inspired: Meet Amy Karol, Meet Maggie Pace, Meet Alison of Kata Golda or Meet Cal Patch. Aren’t those so much fun? I love hearing about how others became artists and more about their creative processes. It always makes me want to create something.
What do you do to get unstuck? Share your strategies in the comments below.
P.S. Love the illustrations in the background of today’s video? They came from The Black Apple on Etsy.
Hi April, love your videos. They’re so much fun! 🙂
Good tips. I use free writing and going outside all the time to get unstuck. Nothing like fresh air to wake you up, especially when I go for a run!
I also find decluttering my desk or workspace, and moving to a different work area (part of my house or office) can help. Change of location helps change my perspective and ideas start to flow again.
Have a great day!
Diana
Those are good ones! I also find doing a little cleaning to help me in those situations…dishes or laundry work the best for me. A change of location can definitely unstick me, too! Thanks for adding them to the list. 🙂
Great Stuff! I’m going to try the free writing! Thanks for posting this stuff! You Rock!
Free writing rocks! I think you’ll love it.
I know! Elena needs to remember how perfect Stephan is for her–they’re meant to be! Waaaah! 🙂
I do a lot of free-writing too, and yes, most of it is terrible. And I love The Happiness Project. I get so many good ideas from it. My favorite way to write is with a big mug of blueberry tea and my favorite Jonathan Alder notebooks.
Hahahaha…exactly! 🙂
I’ve read The Happiness Project twice–I just can’t get enough of it. I love how she mixes research with personal stories.
Love the free writing idea; that’s one I use to get unstuck too. Another terrific exercise I do to get unstuck (and one I’ve shared with others who now swear by it too!) is called the “Sentence Stems” technique. Here’s how it works:
Start with a sentence stem that’s based on a challenge you’re trying to work through, a goal
you want to achieve, a problem you want to solve or anything else you want to gain insight into. The sentence stem itself will contain the solution to the problem you want to solve or outcome you want to achieve.
For example:
“I could start earning more money each month right now if I . . . .”
“It would be easier to get referrals for my business if I . . .”
“I could get 2 new clients in the next 30 days if I . . .”
• Then every day for a week (or for maximum results, two weeks), write out 6-10 endings to the sentence stem.
• Each day (ideally first thing in the morning, when you’re fresh and full of energy), write out your sentence endings without looking at the previous day’s answers — you don’t want your previous day’s answers to guide your new answers.
• Write your endings as quickly as possible without second guessing yourself, worrying about perfect grammar or spelling, or stopping to “decide” if this idea will work or not. Just write. The idea here is to bypass your conscious mind and tap into the powerful awareness of your subconscious mind.
• Try not to use the same ending more than once.
• Now, at the end of your 7 days or 14 days or however long you decided to do this, review everything you’ve written, strike out any repetitions, and consolidate what’s left. Some of the ideas you wrote down will give you new ideas; write these down as well.
• Then review your list again, decide which ideas are best, and prioritize the ones that are immediately actionable, and begin taking action on them.
I’ve used this technique alot in both my business and my personal life, and I can tell ya, it really works!
Now I’m going to watch the videos you included the links to above for even more inspiration. : )
Hey Kimberly! Thank you so much for including such an in-depth explanation of sentence stems. It’s a very similar idea to free writing with a prompt, but I think it could work even better in certain situations, especially since you’re working with the same stem for a week or two.
You’re so welcome! Yep, I’m amazed at how well this technique works. As a long-time writer I’ve tried many things to get “unstuck,” but the sentence stems trick worked wonders for me in a couple of really, truly “stuck” situations. : )
I’ve done the stuck thing with a blog post recently – seriously, when you are going on your third hour and things still aren’t happening, it’s time to take the hint.
I’m usually terrible at stuff when I “have to”. Working full time while I start my business means there are times when I have to because that’s the only time I get. But I often note down blog post ideas as I’m about to go to sleep or just as I’ve gotten out of the shower. Because my best ideas seem to come when I’m not trying so hard and I’m doing something else.
I’m practicing that in other areas of my business too. Just keeping on my path and not trying so hard… Not trying to force it seems to be bringing unexpected progress. And it’s much more fun to do it this way too. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Awesome suggestions! I definitely should go for a walk more often. I do so much work in front of my computer that I often do not even realize how tired it makes me. Even just going outside for 10 minutes to hang up the laundry to dry makes a huge difference – seems crazy! 🙂
Love the illustrations! And thanks for the links to the other videos. Can not wait to digg in!
xox,
Ursula
I had this video on the brain when I got stuck today, so I tried 2 of them! 🙂 I went for a walk outside, and then came in & free wrote. Dear Lord. I could submit that paper to be used for crazy person scrawlings in a bizarre movie. The strangest things float through my mind. I mean seriously it ran the gamut from general word-bombing with items around me, to Adam Sandler’s Cajun Man popping into my head.
Definitely going for a walk is my favorite way to get unstuck. I love walking in the woods with my dogs or going out to hang with our horses in the pasture. I get so many ideas when I’m surrounded by nature. I have done free writing as well and I found it to be really fun and therapeutic. I used it in a “law of attraction” way and wrote about my ideal life as if it already existed. It was fun to imagine all of my dreams as already come true! 🙂
Great tips! As always, love staying tuned for the bipolar craziness at the end! Hehe!