97: Working Through Creative Block

Focus on the habit. You know, people like us do this. We have a consistency around the work that we make and so we're not necessarily doing it for some big reveal or to show on Instagram. We're doing it because it is who we are.

I'm Bonnie Christine and this is where all things creativity, design, business and marketing unite. I'm a mama living in a tiny town tucked right inside the Smoky Mountains, running a multi seven figure business, doing the most creative and impactful work of my life.

But when I first set out to

become an entrepreneur, I was struggling to make ends meet and wrestling with how to accomplish my biggest dream of becoming a fabric designer. Fast forward to today.

I I'm not only licensing my artwork

all over the world, but also teaching others how to design their creative life and experience the same success. I'm here to help you spend your life doing something that lights you up. I'll help you build a creative business that also creates an impact, changes people's lives, gives you all of the freedom you want, and is wildly probably profitable. Welcome to the Professional Creative Podcast.

Welcome to the Professional Creative. Now, if you've ever sat in front of a blank canvas or stared at a blank screen, you know the struggle of creative block. And that's exactly what I want to talk about today. You know, in a recent podcast, I shared about my creative process when I was building and creating my most recent fabric collection. And I gotta say, sometimes it is so hard to just approach a new notebook, a new project, or a blank piece of paper. And I know that starting is the hardest part. I know this because every time I just simply start, things become easier and easier. And so today, not only do I want to share 10 of my biggest tips on helping you get unstuck and back into your creative groove, but also I want to give you a special gift. So to help you jumpstart your creativity, I've put together a downloadable guide called One Year of Daily Art Prompts. Now it's designed to really help just give you a jumping off idea and inspiration for creating art every single day. So they are based on themes for each week for an entire year and you can approach it for your artwork, for developing your portfolio, to enhancing your signature style, or to just have fun. So be sure to give it a download. You can find the link over at Today's Show Notes on professionalcreative. Com. So let's just jump into my 10 top tips for really getting unstuck when we're working through creative block. Number one is to just start. I Know it sounds easier than it is, but no pressure. Take the pressure off and just dive in to simply starting. So you can take the pressure off by telling yourself that it doesn't matter, that maybe you're not creating something for the finished piece that you want to work on. Maybe you promise not to show it to anybody or to even throw it away after you're done. That just kind of releases the pressure and allows you to start making marks on paper. That really is all there is to it. Simply starting. Now, the next tip is to simply focus on the habit of making marks. So whatever that means for you, some of you are artists, some of you are other kind of makers. So whatever making that mark is for you, focus on the habit. You know, people like us do this. We have a consistency around the work that we make, and so we're not necessarily doing it for some big reveal or to show on Instagram. We're doing it because it is who we are. So we have to have the habit of making marks consistently every single day. Now, the more you do this, the easier it is, and the pressure will slowly but surely get better and better. Okay, number three, I love. It's about really just playing a trick on yourself, because sometimes our mind is our worst enemy. So sometimes I promise myself that I'm going to throw away the first two or three pages that I mark up. And for some reason, that just gets things flowing. It gets me kind of out of my own way just creating marks. And I know this to be true half the time. I end up keeping them because I'll like something on them. But it's a really great way to just take the pressure off of beginning. Now, number four is to take a break. Sometimes we just need to take some space from the work that we're doing. So this. This is typically after you've gotten over the hump of just beginning, then you're getting kind of stuck in the middle. You're going in circles. You're not really getting to where you want to be with it. You keep messing up or something like that. And so I love permission to just step away, build in that margin to where if it's just not flowing today, it's okay. We can take a step away and come back to it the next day, knowing that things will be different after a good night's sleep or thinking about it. It'll just flow differently from day to day. And this is a great way to also make sure that you are avoiding burnout. Number five is also when you might just be feeling A little uninspired. And so my call to action is to go gather inspiration, whatever that looks like for you, but make sure that it's away from technology. I've learned that technology really drains your inspiration. And when you remove yourself from that and the day to day shuffle, get outside, go to a library, go for a walk, go for a hike, anything that really, really inspires you. And it will just breathe new life into your work and how you're feeling about what you're doing today. Picture this.

Your creative business thriving beyond your wildest dreams. More than just a business, an entire legacy.

It's not just possible, but I want

you to feel how close it is to within your reach. I want to unfold the map of success together with you. In fact, I want to invite you to join me on a journey unlike any other with my brand new professional creative business coaching program. If you're currently making in between 50 and $200,000 a year in your business, it's time to think bigger. Imagine expanding your team, honing your leadership and overcoming the challenges most businesses face. You know, what got you to where you are today isn't going to be the same thing that gets you to where you're going. If you're nodding along, I made this program for you. We'll have weekly live coaching calls, accountability pods to keep you on track, and a vault of resources and bonuses along with a community of fellow creative big thinkers. Because growing together is where all the magic happens. We've got the Time management lab, my $5 million launch debrief, and a creative profits training which you'll have as a launch PA all your revenue streams. But if you're unsure if this is your next step, I would love to chat with you. So in order to do that, I need you to send me a DM on Instagram or fill out our short interest form over@bonniecristine.com coach so that I can personally follow up with you and just ask you a few questions because I want to make sure that this is the perfect fit for you and your journey right now. You have my word. If I don't think I can truly move the needle for you, I'll tell you. So if you're ready to elevate your creative business and step into your power and into a room of some really big thinkers, join me by filling out the interest form@bonniecristine.com coach or just DM me over on Instagram the word coach and I'll respond with my first few questions for you. Together, let's make your passion your legacy.

Now number six is about establishing a routine. Sometimes creating the work, if we get sidetracked with our day to day tasks is really about the fact that we lack a routine and we lack that consistency. So when I'm creating specifically something as big as a new collection, I try to very much have a routine. So maybe it's the first 60 minutes of the day I work on creating. Maybe it's the last 60 minutes of the day, but having it scheduled and planned and a routine way will really help kind of overcome that needing to start because it's just already on the calendar. You've made space for it Now I love number seven. It's about having quiet time, really time to think and use our brain. And it's so funny because this really doesn't happen by accident. It has to be intentional. Like, I don't know about you, but I can go days without actually tapping into the depth of really, really thinking. And so I will plan on quiet time to step away and just think. Maybe this is a walk with no ear pods in and no friend with me or anything. Just time to really think. Or sometimes I'll plan a super thinking session where I just kind of step away and really just have time to think and be. We need permission in our business to just think. That's one of our biggest, highest contributions to our work. Now number eight is about finding joy. I think sometimes when what we love becomes work, we can almost lose that spark of joy about the thing that we do that we set out to do, that we want to do for the rest of our life. Right? And so make sure that before you get to that point, you're sparking joy in whatever it is that you're doing. Can you do it for fun? Can you do it for a bigger purpose or a bigger why that you have that will just really resonate with you on a joy level because you can tell when work is created out of pure joy and when work is created out of a to do list. And your work that is created out of pure joy is going to resonate with everybody who sees it and with you on a deeper level. So kind of make a list of

the things that you know bring you

joy and engage in those activities and let them bring you happiness and then infuse that into your work. Now number nine is more practical and it's about freeing up your mind. You know, sometimes we hear people say, like, I've got too many tabs open in my brain and I know what that feels Like, I think a cluttered mind can really become a creative roadblock because we've got so many things swirling around that we have to do that. It's really hard to just remember that we need to kind of clear, clear that mental space so that we can come to our creative work. And so one of the best ways to do this is just to write down everything that's in your mind. It's going to free up that mental bandwidth, it's going to reduce your overwhelm and it's going to make sure that you're not using your mind to remember the things that you have to do. You get them on paper or get them into some kind of scheduling app or organization app, and then you can really focus on just being present with the creative work at hand. Now, similarly, number 10 is create a space for those spur of the moment ideas. I don't know about you, but sometimes I get my best ideas in the middle of the night. And if I don't have a process for trying to get those out of my head, then I'll spend the rest of the night trying to make sure I remember them so that I don't forget them in the morning and then I won't have a good night's sleep or they'll strike me, you know, when I'm out and about in the day or away from my work. So I just keep a simple notes app where anytime I've got that spur of a moment idea that I really want to see come to life but I don't have time to do it right now, I jot them down.

So this could be on paper.

You could keep a notebook by your bed or with you in your bag or purse, or you could use an app on your phone. Again, I use the simple notes app and it's just a great place to capture all of those ideas spinning around in our head so that we can release them and come back to them when we're ready. So there you have it. Those are my 10 tips that I personally use when I'm feeling a little stuck or a little overwhelmed to come to a new project for the first time. And they really help. Just starting, kind of reducing that overwhelm and making sure that I've got a clutter free way of approaching my creativity always helps me begin making work that I'm really proud of. So my friends, I hope this has been helpful. Whatever it is that you're making, remember there's room for you.