I’m not going to lie; this article was really hard to write. I’ve had a really rough week and the last thing I wanted to do was sit down and write an article. I love writing – it’s something I really couldn’t live without, but this doesn’t always bleed into non-fiction, fact-based essays. So this week, I’m going to write about what to do when you’re really having a hard time writing. Below is a list of little tricks and exercises to get that ink flowing.

Change Scenery

This is my favorite one. If you want to do the cliché thing and go to your local café to write, go for it. Getting away from your desk or bedroom or wherever you normally exercise creativity can really help trigger new ideas and lines of thought.

Establish A Routine

On the other hand, establishing a routine can be a huge help. For example, if you write or draw (or whatever you like to do), try doing it at the same time every day. This will train your brain to be prepared to be creative and you’ll slip into the groove of things a lot faster.

Just Start

Don’t waste time thinking about it. For me, the strongest creativity booster is to just start typing. If you’re writing, write about not being able to write. This’ll unlock your brain, and before you know it, you’ll be writing the brilliant scenes you didn’t know you had in you. This is actually how I got started on this article; just writing about what I was going through. Sure I deleted a lot of what I wrote, but that chicken scratch helped me reach my goal.

Don’t Be Too Critical

Ooo, this is the one I struggle with. When trying to be creative, it’s important to turn off the little perfectionist in your head. You may think it’s helping you because you’re editing and being creative at the same time, but you're just hurting yourself in the long run. Your inner perfectionist actually stunts creativity and kills your inner muse. This, I think, is why I write best at night; because my brain is relaxed, I’m not crunched for time, and my sleepiness mutes my perfectionism, allowing my muse to frolic freely on the page in front of me.

I hope this helped you all, and even though I related my tricks mostly to writing, these methods will help you be creative in anything you endeavor to do. Whether it’s some form of art, problem-solving, or even a school essay. Feel free to share if this helped you, or comment if you have any other suggestions to add to my list; these four things are far from exhaustive.