10 Tips to Stay Positive While Overcoming A Creative Funk

Hey friends, I’m back! This is my first blog post in almost two months, exciting right!? If you’ve been checking in on Just Jen Things over the past two months, I apologize for the lack of new content awaiting your visit. If I’m being honest, the lingering COVID-19 pandemic has left me feeling a little less creative lately, which is both disappointing and to be expected.

Whereas I used to be more optimistic about all of us laying low, overcoming the peak, and getting back to some form of normalcy, my outlook has tangled itself in a web of pessimism lately. Every day, I find I’m asking myself the same series of questions: When will life return to normal? What will the new normal even look like? Why have other countries beat the curve, yet the United States continues to fall further and further down the rabbit hole? What will it take for people to take this virus seriously?

The whole situation has become really demotivating for me. The abrupt, prolonged change in my daily routine has been really hard to adjust to. I’m still working from home, avoiding dine-in restaurants, and trying my best to isolate away from others. I’m practicing social distancing wherever I go and wearing a mask to help protect others. Because it’s my responsibility. Yet I’m disappointed in the actions of others who seem to completely disregard the seriousness of the virus and all its socioeconomic implications. The weather is getting warmer, people have begun to let their guards down, and as a result, peak two is en route with increasing levels of positive COVID-19 cases day over day.

I want the pandemic to be over too. And I know I’m not alone. Lots of friends and fellow content creators I follow have recently posted that they are similarly experiencing a creative funk. Many have taken extended breaks from Instagram and blog content to focus on resetting mental health in hopes it will aid a creative return. I feel the same way. I don’t want to force content for the sake of reaching a goal or getting likes. I have always wanted my content to feel genuine and authentic, so I’d rather not post than post for the sake of posting. It’s been a challenge not to post these past two months. I wanted to post. I wanted to write. I tried to write. But the words wouldn’t come, so I decided to hit the pause button.

Let me tell you, it’s not easy to pull out of a creative funk, especially when things feel so stagnant, boring, and uneventful 24/7. As high as the creative ups can be, when those creative lows strike, frustration sneaks in and makes you question whether inspiration will ever strike again. And that’s a scary feeling for someone who likes to write and publish content.

Today I’m here to tell you that you will get your mojo back – you just have to be willing to climb the uphill battle to conquer your internal struggle. Whether it’s stemming from lack of creativity, writer’s block, built up stress, an insecurity, or something else wedging an obstacle in your way, your creative funk will pass. I promise you. But don’t expect it to pass overnight; often times it takes a bit of time to reflect, self-care, and work through the source of your funk before you can cross the bridge back to your creative ways.

The good news is that after two months away, I feel like I’m finally starting to come around the bend in the creative department. For me, the trick has been to remember to maintain a positive mindset as positivity holds the key to happiness. Even when creativity and inspiration feel as dry as the desert, maintaining a positive outlook will help you decompress, recharge, and combat any persistent negative energies. Here are some of the positivity strategies I used over the past few months to overcome my own creative drought. Hopefully they work equally as well for you too.

Remember to enjoy the little things. Whether it’s watching the sunrise, taking that first sip of coffee in the morning, listening to the sound of the rain, or spending time with your loved ones, don’t forget to be grateful for the small things in life. Gratitude helps tenfold with maintaining a positive outlook.

Get outside. Breathe in the fresh air. Enjoy the sunshine. Take in a little bit of nature. Walk the dog. The energies provided by the great outdoors are so rejuvenating and good for the soul.

Exercise. Right around the time my creative funk was setting in, I started Beachbody’s Morning Meltdown 100. I’ve been going over 50 days strong and I feel better and stronger than ever before. But of course, there are many other ways to exercise — just find what works for you and you won’t be disappointed with the results (body and mind). Daily exercise offers so many health benefits.

Follow positive people on social media. Positive people inspire me. I follow so many positive content creators on Instagram, something that helps me maintain a pleasurable experience when scrolling through my feed. I love reading and engaging with posts from other bloggers; often times interacting with posts helps generate content ideas for my own work, which is a huge bonus!

Remember to smile. There are so many health benefits that come from wearing a big smile. Not only will you feel happier yourself, you will also inspire happiness in other people as well.

Unplug for a bit. Taking some time away from mindless scrolling and the comparison game will give you more time to reflect on your own thoughts and needs. Unplugging is so good for your mental health; I’m convinced that everyone should make it a more regular part of their routine to really reap the benefits.

Take time for yourself. It goes hand in hand with unplugging. In a social media driven world, it’s hard to be “on” all the time. And it’s not good for your mental health to always be “on” either. Sometimes we worry too much about other people and forget to make ourselves a priority. Self-care comes in many forms, so find what works best for you and embrace it. You deserve it!

Plan something fun. Things feel better when you have something fun (and safe of course) to look forward to.

Reflect on what inspires you. Inspiration is the driver for creativity, so do yourself a favor and set aside some time to reflect on what ignites the spark for you. And remember — sources of inspiration can be found in bits of everyday life too; often times we spend so much time looking for the big picture inspiration that we forget that small and simple life pleasures are right there waiting for you.

Keep perspective. We’re in a pandemic, navigating through a unique situation unmatched by any other event. It’s okay to be happy, sad, lonely, confused, and frustrated at the same time. I said it before and I’ll say it again: creative funks are disappointing but to be expected in hard times (and post-pandemic times too). Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to trudge forward if you’re not ready.

And that’s a wrap! Of course, this is not “the list” — there are so many other ways to help restore your creativity when you’ve fallen into a funk. Each of us responds to challenge in a different way and that’s what makes these funks so hard to overcome. But you can do it!

As for me, I’m really happy with where I’m at right now. In hindsight, though it was frustrating, I’m glad I took time off for myself these past months. But I can say with 100% certainty that I’m ready to get back to content creation again. I’ve had a lot of extra time on my hands the past few days as I was driving an 18-hour route from North Carolina to Wisconsin (yay for planning something fun). Between lots of pitstops, bathroom breaks, little catnaps, and coffee refills, I spent a majority of the drive time in the backseat brainstorming and writing content for the blog. Keep your eyes peeled for more fun posts in the coming weeks — I’m feeling good!

Enjoy!

JB