Stuck in a Creative Rut

It happens to the best of us, regardless of what it is you do for a living, or what it is you do as a hobby. At the moment, I feel like I am well and truly stuck in a rut. For approximately the past week, I have been left feeling rather uninspired when it comes to a lot of projects - those I've got planned, and those I'm halfway through. Although it inevitably happens to all of us at one time or another, I am determined to get over this bump as soon as possible, and am going to be trying a few things to help me snap out of it...

Limit the Time I Spend on a Computer
I recently bought a new laptop, and boy, am I wasting a lot of time on it. Sometimes, surfing the web (er, Pinterest) is a great way of gathering inspiration and ideas for a project, and I love reading other creative's blogs and seeing their ideas. However, Pinterest is my number one procrastination vice, and a quick ten minutes soon runs to an hour. If I carefully limit the amount of time I spend on these activities, I know I would get more done, instead of just thinking about getting things done.

Regularly Brainstorm Ideas
I used to have a constant, physical list of ideas that I would be adding to on a regular basis. Whilst a lot of these ideas were nothing more than an idea, often the process of brainstorming itself would help me feel more creative. At the moment, I have a list of ideas in my head, but somehow putting them down on paper makes them seem like more concrete ideas. And of course, looking back over my brainstorming list would lead me to rediscover an idea that had been forgotten, and try it out again.

Try New Things
It's been a while since I've pushed myself in a new direction, and I miss it. I love trying out different methods and techniques, and although most of the time I return to my absolute favourites, there's nothing like trying new things to get you thinking creatively. It can give you insight into new techniques, and can even teach you more about your personal preferences. For ages now, I've wanted to try out a silversmith workshop at the local college, but for whatever reason never got around to it. I'm not going to make any more excuses, and am going to sign up as soon as I can. Although, all it can take sometimes is one Youtube tutorial to teach you a new thing. No excuses now!

Organise My Time Better
Sometimes, after a busy week, all I want to do is collapse on the sofa and watch Les Mis on repeat. But here's the thing - if you really want to do something, you can find time in your day to do it, if you make the effort. Yes, I know Bake Off's on, but how about turning off Twitter and watching it with your knitting instead? Sometimes, motivating yourself if hard, but ultimately a lot more satisfying than doing the easy, lazy option.

Gather Inspiration Carefully
If anything, I am hands down guilty of gathering too much inspiration for too many projects at once. I become overwhelmed with ideas, which is absolutely not helpful at all. Of course, collecting inspiration can easily turn into another way of procrastinating as well, even if you trick yourself into thinking it's helpful. Instead, I'm going to gather inspiration for one project at a time, and once I feel I've got enough, not collect anymore.

So, I'm hoping this next week will be far more productive than this last one. Fingers crossed! If you've got any ideas for being more creative, and productive, I'd love to hear them!