4 Things to Do When You're Fresh Out of Ideas

Being creative is tough, isn’t it?

For some, it comes more naturally than others, but as a general rule, eventually everyone who creates things for a living will run out of ideas. Doesn’t matter if you own a business making websites or you write novels. The well of ideas can’t stay full forever.

So, what do you do? I have a few ideas.

Take a Good, Long (Maybe Forever) Break

Quitting doesn’t nearly get as much love as it should. I’ve found, more often than not, that taking an extended break with an option to abandon it altogether can be just the ultimatum that your brain needs to start generating new ideas. It’s almost like that old “absence makes the heart grow fonder” thing. Spending time away just reminds you how much you love whatever it is that you do. Then, you start coming up with new ways to express that.

Look Around, Look Around

Pardon the Hamilton reference, but isn’t it true that inspiration can be anywhere if you’re looking for it?

Creativity is a mindset. The more you want to see, the more you’ll see. Case in point, look at this picture.

I was dropping my husband off at the bike mechanic last week. This place was randomly deep in a neighborhood and when I pulled up among all the bikes, this classic car struck me right away. Simply because I liked how it looked, I took a picture. It wasn’t until this morning that I looked at it again and realized it would make a great metaphor for restoration. I run the social media for my husband’s counseling practice. Bam. A social media post. All because I had my eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, which actually leads me to this next point…

Keep a Journal on Hand

In my random TikTok scrolling, I saw a snippet of an interview Joe Rogan did with Rick Rubin, legendary music producer. Rick said that Eminem always had a notepad with him. The hip hop legend said he doesn’t use the vast majority of the ideas that he writes down. It’s just to stay in the creative flow.

That’s it. That’s the tip. Keep a journal on you at all times.

Don’t Imitate—Improve

Drawing inspiration from other creators is nothing new. From science and technology to engineering and business, everyone does this. There really aren’t any new wheels being invented. Literally every innovation you see has its origins in something that’s already made. What makes anything seem creative is your ability to improve on it. So look at what other people are doing. How can you do it differently? How can you add your unique voice?

Final Thought

In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth GIlbert said this of ideas: “[that they] are alive, that ideas do seek the most available human collaborator, that ideas do have a conscious will, that ideas do move from soul to soul, that ideas will always try to seek the swiftest and most efficient conduit to the earth (just as lightning does).”

Be receptive to ideas in the random forms that they come. Even if more than half of them turn into nothing, you’ll enjoy what you get out of it.