How to Get Out of a Creative Funk

Even the best photographers get into a creative funk. We all have times when we feel stuck. Sometimes creative funks come out of nowhere and all of a sudden we feel like a big, fat slug. No energy, no creative juices, and everything we do just feels blah. So, what do we do to fix it?

Mindset

Instead of moaning and groaning about being in a funk, instead of beating ourselves up for it, I want you to try embracing it! A lot of times when we find ourselves in a creative funk our minds get stuck in this negative thought loop. We start to believe that we are doomed. That we are alone and no one who has ever succeeded experiences creative funks because they are passionate all the time. But that’s not true!

Replace those lies with truths my friend! You are not alone. And I would argue that ANYONE who has ever experienced success would tell you that creative funks are part of the process.

There is hope!

Remove the Pressure

One of the biggest anxiety triggers when I find myself in a creative funk is that I know I still have to maintain my business, even I don’t feel like it. I still need to show up on social media and write blog posts. Photo sessions, editing, and photo delivery are still required.

Honestly, that pressure begins to feel unbearable. So, I do these things to remove the pressure.

1. Slow down. During creative funks, the last thing we want to do is write content. I’m not giving you permission to abandon your social media pages and blog. But, I’m saying feel free to slow it down. Instead of posting one blog session per week. Post one every other week. Instead of showing up on Social Media daily, show up ever other day. Automatically your content is cut in half.
2. Recycle Content. If there was ever a time to recycle your content, now is that time. Whenever I hit a creative funk, I will go back through my old content and repost it with a different photo. The algorithm doesn’t care and neither do your followers. Odds are, they won’t even remember.
3. Sessions. Figure out how many sessions you NEED to do in order to meet your income/cost expectations. And then, don’t take any more than that. An important part of creative funks is carving out enough time to figure out how you got here in the first place.

Dig Deep

When I feel that my creative energy is depleted, it’s often because something is blocking it, and the blockage needs to be addressed. Blockages include bad habits, irresponsibility, procrastination, feeling like I’m failing, or I don’t have clarity.

Sometimes the digging work needs to be done alone through prayer or journaling. When I’m able to figure out what is actually causing the creative juices to be blocked, then often times I know exactly what to do to fix it. Start with these questions:

Switch it up

Sometimes we sit and stare at the same thing waiting for creative juices to flow when really in the same way they always have. But that’s not how creativity works. A big component of creativity is newness. A fresh idea, a different approach, a new way of doing something.

If those fresh ideas don’t come to you, try shaking things up in other areas of your life to mimic the creative feeling you want. Try an online course. Rearrange a room, renovate a piece of furniture, try a new hairstyle, be spontaneous. It’s amazing how one simple action with a free and fearless attitude will gradually inspire other actions to take place.

Refill your own cup

If you are not filling your cup on a regular basis with whatever it is that fuels you then your creative energy will become depleted. Whether it’s intellectual debates, a bubble bath, nights out with the friends, do what you must to feel like yourself.

Need to laugh? Get on TikTok. Feeling disconnected spiritually? Go pray. Need to get outside? Go for a run, take a walk with a friend, do some jumping jacks or squats while watching your favorite show. Summon creativity by blasting your favorite music or baking a pie. Take a spontaneous trip. Read a book (not a blog or an email, a real book). Unplug from technology and consume other types of content. Consuming content from all realms of life and around all topics foster creativity. Here are some books to indulge in:

• The War of Art
• Writing Down the Bones
• If You Want to Write

Community

We were not made to do life alone. This only makes everything worse; anxiety, depression, creative funks, etc. If you don’t have one… reach out to me on Instagram. Or join my group coaching program for photographers, Above the Water. As a creative business owner, you need to surround yourself with creative people with contagious energy that will fuel a spark within you.