Have you ever lost your creative spark – that magical feeling that makes you so incredibly excited to create something new, whether that be personally or for your business? For the past six months, I’ve completely lost my desire to create anything outside of my client work. It’s been a yucky feeling to navigate and figure out why I’ve lost my natural lust for dreaming up new creative ideas in my business. Has this ever happen to you too? I know I’m not alone with the ebs and flow of creativity. I’ve been taking time to reflect on what could be causing this and working to figure out ways to get my creative spark back because I sure miss it! If you’re going through a similar path, I hope you’ll find some of these ideas helpful so we can get back to creating more of what we love!

First, it’s important to take time to reflect. This year for my business, I took on the most custom wedding stationery clients than I ever have in one year – by more I mean doubled the number of custom client projects! This has been a huge accomplishment and one I’m so proud of, but I know it’s also played a major role into why I’ve stopped dreaming up new creative ideas for my business.

When you take on custom client art projects, you pour a lot of time, love and creative energy into the work and I felt that I owed that to my clients. On the flip side, I didn’t save any creative energy for other aspects in my business. And because I built a strong process for custom wedding invitations (huge thanks to my CRM system, Honeybook), I found myself in repetitive cycles week after week. Or in other words, a creative rut.

Reflecting back, I’m so beyond grateful for the couples who have chosen me to create their custom wedding stationery, but I’m also realizing that I took on more than I wish for my business goals. I crave balance in business and not tipping the scale too much in one avenue. My most creative ideas have come during incredibly busy seasons of life, when I’m spreading my energy among a wide variety of things and able to gain inspiration from different surroundings and people. This year my days have mostly been spent alone inside of my home studio, busily creating and painting for my clients. Many days, this was something I looked forward to, but I’ve learned that what is comfortable is not always best.

Here are some ways that I’m working to uncover my creative spark again:

Taking on less custom client projects

This goes back to finding the right balance and pace for my business. I want to build a business that has variety in my days. One way I am trying to do this is to assign a certain day of the week to different buckets in my business. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are for custom client projects, Tuesdays are for YouTube, Thursdays are for new creative ideas such as working on a new course or painting a new card design for my etsy shop. Assigning days has also helped me to schedule custom projects and to know how many I want to take on each month.

Filling my schedule with a variety of activities outside of work

This one is a big one I’m working on. Up until this past year, I kept my schedule very busy while working a different business along side Windswept Design Studio. Even though I still wonder how I kept it all together, the busy days created a momentum that only comes when staying busy and juggling a variety of things. Managing a good energy is incredibly important when it comes to creativity and a lot of the time energy comes from movement, working and talking with people, hanging out with friends and having full days.

Working in new spaces

This is one of the quickest ways to get out of a creative rut and find motivation. I stopped finding creative inspiration in my home. When this happens, I take my sketchbook and computer to a local library, coffee shop or park for some fresh air. Running a business from home has been one of the most difficult parts of my business. Trying to create separation from home and work is really important, which is why I love working in different locations.

Taking time off

Along with being a bad napper because I hate to lose day light, taking time off is really hard for me. But as we know, it’s incredibly important to create space and time away from work. Depending on the amount of burn out, a weekend away may be enough time to recharge and feel inspired again. I’ve recognized that my recent creative burnout won’t be solved in a weekend away. So I’m not putting a timeframe on when I need to start a new creative project. Right now I’ve been focused on trying different things outside of watercolor such as honing in my sourdough bread baking, fermenting kombucha, scheduling time at our cabin. I know that by trying new things and not forcing my creative spark back will be the best way to overcome the burnout.

Take time to reflect and let these questions guide you:

• Where am I spending my creative energy and time?
• When have I felt most creative in my life? What was my schedule like during that time?
• Where and when do most of my creative ideas come to me?
• Is my environment affecting my creativity? What places do I enjoy working?
• What are my creative goals for the next 3, 6 and 12 months?
• What “buckets” make up my business and what days do I work on each of them?
• Do I simply need time off?

Grab my free creative brief template for your next creative project!

When you are feeling inspired to start a new creative project, grab this free creative brief template to get you on the right path! For every new project I create, I start by putting together the roadmap: the brief, brand board, color palette and project plan. This is such an important step in creating a thoughtful product or collection!

If you’re also experiencing a creative rut, comment below how you are working to overcome it. I love sharing experiences where we can each take ideas and find new perspectives to help get out of a creative funk!