Keep Creative While Blogging
When you’re on a roll and the ideas keep seem infinite it feels great but when you’ve encountered a dry spell it can be overwhelmingly discouraging. Everyone has had a moment in time when they’ve struggled to produce new content and, whether you’re a blogger or not, it’s something we can all relate to.
Without fail, it seems to crop up at the worst times but sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and press onward. Today I’ve put together a few tips on how to keep creative while blogging that have helped my in my first year and I hope will help you too!
Keep in mind this is Day 3 of my week-long blogging marathon! Make sure you check out Day 1: 6 Essential Blogging Tools and Day 2: #VRxLove blogger spotlight if you haven’t already.
Give it a Rest
Sometimes you just can’t force it and you shouldn’t. We can’t be everything to everyone always and that includes ourselves. You can’t always be motivated and you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it. It happens to everyone no matter what industry you’re in or how far along into your career you are. It can be a short break where you just go for a walk or it can be for a week or longer. Do whatever you need to do to refresh your mindset and don’t force something that isn’t genuine just for the sake of keeping up appearances.
Do What You Love Outside of Your Blog of Your Niche
If you’re a blogger it can be hard to separate yourself from your online presence. Sometimes the things we used to love get overshadowed by the newer things in our lives. For me, all the new life experiences I went through during college and directly afterward caused an unexpected hiatus from my love of art.
All the tasks that pile up in order to keep a blog from collecting dust take time. If you’re like me you love your blog and when you have time to work on it you try to optimize that time. That may mean falling behind in Bates Motel, Reign, Scandal (forgive me Shonda!) or neglecting something else you used to spend a lot of time on. I’m not saying that blogging takes up my time 24/7 but when you’ve hit a wall it helps to dive back into the things you loved before you blogged. Or at least the things you have less time for now that you do blog.
Try Something New
If you’re encountering a creative dry spell then I think it’s time to shake up your routine. Nothing connects people better than to have shared experiences and nothing get those creative juices flowing like trying something different.
There is nothing more enjoyable than to branch out. If you want to keep creative while blogging I suggest you do something entirely different. Grab a friend and explore a neighboring town, go on a hike, drive without a destination, cook a new recipe, take a class – just do something new.
Screw the Excuses
Lastly, sometimes we have to police our mindsets and call ourselves out on our own bull. It’s easy to say that you’re “uninspired”, it’s easy to say that you’ve “run out of ideas” but, like any other skill, creativity is a muscle that needs to be trained. (Click to Tweet) You won’t always come up with an idea that’s gold but you have to keep trying in order to do so. In order to keep creative while blogging you have to practice and create a consistent schedule.
When I say schedule I’m not talking about a posting schedule. I’m talking about actively taking your creativity into your own hands and producing something as often as possible. It can be a blog post, a poem, a painting, a sketch, scrapbooking or even one of those adult coloring books there isn’t a limit. Using the word “schedule” may not sound sexy or enticing but it works. When you make a point to have a routine that designates time for your creative pursuits you’re giving them the green light to flourish.
Bonus!
Sometimes we need a little help and when that happens I’ve got your back! I’m developing a project that helps others maintain a creative lifestyle and flourish.
It’s a ways away from the big reveal later this year but today you can Grab 12 FREE Creative Prompts to jumpstart your creative mojo and get a sneak peek at what’s to come! Next time you hit a dry spell (in blogging or another creative outlet) take a look at these and let you imagination take flight! Just click the image and get started!
How do you keep creative while blogging? If you don’t blog how do you stay creative?
NOTE: Blogiversary Giveaway CLOSED.