Do you sometimes feel your Creativity is having an off day? Week? Month? He/she’s a little sluggish, not really that ‘into’ anything; not sparking like the firecracker you know and love?

A common reason for this creative lethargy is distraction by another idea. Take a look at what you’re working on. Chances are your Creativity’s interests have shifted since you started.

For example, the other day Jessica was working on a blog post. The concept was great. I remember being very excited about it when we first put words to paper. But somewhere between initial idea and halfway through the grunt work, I’d found this particularly interesting shade of bellybutton fluff and got so caught up in finding what caused it that I may not have been terribly helpful with the original post.

Then the bellybutton lint (which was magenta in case you were interested) started forming works, and pictures, and I knew I had a brilliant idea. I started jumping up and down. I hollered for Jessica to look at what I’d found…and wouldn’t you know it? She refused!

No matter what I tried, she stared at that white page until I feared she’d burst a blood vessel. Finally, when she was at head banging point, she listened to me. Upon opening a new document, the words began to flow faster than her fingers could type. 1,200 words later we called it a night, far happier with our output.

Surf’s Up

My point is, when your Creativity is more interested in lint than in what you’re working on, you’re swimming against the flow and you need to switch projects.

I’m not saying permanently ditch what you’re working on in favour of your new idea. I’m suggesting a brief hiatus. Time enough for the creative sponge to replenish itself.

Some people have a couple of projects going at the same time. When their Creativity becomes comatose while working on one, or begins sparking ideas on another project, they switch projects.

It’s just like working with a child. Your life and theirs is more enjoyable when you ride the wave of excitement. (I don’t mind when Jessica refers to my childish qualities. I view it as a compliment, actually.�More on that another time.)

So instead of staring at the blank page until your eyes bleed, why not check in with your Creativity and see if anything has particularly caught his/her interest today. If they’re excited about something, even if it’s not quite what you had in mind, hop on the wave and ride their momentum. I bet you’ll be surprised by where it leads.

And Now For a Completely Different Analogy

But you’re probably saying, “What about the original post Jessica was working on? You can’t just give up on a project when your Creativity’s lost his/her spark, otherwise you’ll never finish anything.”

This is true. But let me put it this way: How do you teach a child to eat yucky vegetables? You can sit them down night after night trying to get them to down that pumpkin, which is necessary for habit forming.

But every now and then it’s worth trying a different tactic. You can hide the veggies in other foods (like pumpkin scones!), tell stories as the dastardly broccoli charges towards your child’s mouth, give out awards for every spoonful of potato which doesn’t reappear on the bib.

The same principle applies to nursing your Creativity through those not-so-easy tasks. Can you mix the task in with something else? Perhaps listen to music while you do the boring stuff? Can you put on a timer or set a word count, while promising a reward after the achievement? Monica Wood suggests having a bowl of chips handy when working through the tough times. One sentence, one chip.

But the most important thing to remember is: If your Creativity has an idea, even if you’re caught up in trying to finish another project, at least get some of it down on paper while the spark is fresh. You’ll go a lot further if you ride the wave instead of swimming against it.

Have you ever experienced this? What does your Creativity have to say on the matter?

Image Credit: Microsoft Clip Art