How to get your creativity back
How to get your creativity back
By Frances Cross
There are times when creativity feels like a river - flowing freely, bubbling with ideas, colours and energy. Then there are times when the river completely dries up. You stare at your craft table, your sketch book or your computer screen, and nothing comes. Not a spark or flicker, then you are to wonder: Was I ever creative at all?
The truth is, losing touch with your creativity doesn’t mean it's gone forever. Creativity isn’t a switch that gets turned off - it's more like a garden that sometimes lies dormant waiting for you to tend it again. Getting your creativity back is about reconnecting with yourself, your environment,and your sense of play. It’s not about forcing output; it’s about gently coaxing your imagination back into the light.
Here’s how to begin. Again.
Accept the pause
The first step in rekindling creativity is to stop fighting the block. So often, we panic when inspiration disappears - we push harder, criticise ourselves, and start comparing your dry spell to those who are creating with abundance. But creativity doesn’t thrive under pressure.
If you have been burned out, overwhelmed, or simply busy surviving, it makes perfect sense that your creative energy has taken a step back. The mind can’t play when it’s exhausted. Give yourself permission to pause. Acknowledge that this is part of the creative cycle - rest is vital as expression.
Try to say to yourself: “my creativity is resting, not gone”. That small shift in language removes the fear and replaces it with compassion. This allows you to move forward without the weight of guilt.
Reconnect with why you create
When we lose touch with creativity, it often happens because we’ve lost touch with why we create in the first place. Maybe the joy got tangled up in the deadlines, expectations or self doubt. Maybe you started creating for approval instead of expression,
As yourself some grounding questions:
What first drew me to making things?
When did I last feel excited about creating and what was I doing?
How do I want my creativity to make me feel?
You might find that your creativity needs to change shape. Perhaps you used to paint and now you feel drawn to collage or photography. Creativity evolves as we do. Rediscovering your “why” can reignite that inner spark.
Feed your mind - Gently.
When your creativity runs dry, it's tempting to binge on inspiration: scrolling endlessly through Pinterest, saving instagram reels, or watching tutorials. But too much input can overwhelm rather than inspire. Instead, think of feeding your creativity like feeding a plant little and often with care.
Try spending time with creativity in a slower, more mindful way:
Visit an art exhibition or local craft market just to observe.
Read poetry or listen to music that moves you.
Walk in nature and notice the colours, textures and patterns
Handle your materials - wood, clay paper, fabric - without pressure to make anything.
Let your senses wake up. Creativity begins not in the hands, but in the noticing.
Start Small - Really Small.
One of the biggest barriers to creative recovery is the expectation that you should jump straight back in at full strength. You can’t run a marathon after months of rest, and creativity works the same way.
Give yourself permission to start tiny. Draw for five minutes. Stitch one small patch. Write a single paragraph.Take one photo a day.
The point isn’t to produce a masterpiece - it’s to rebuild your creative rhythm. Small acts of making are like stretching exercises for your imagination. Over time they loosen the stiffness and reawaken flow.
You could even start a “five minute creativity habit” - a playful daily ritual where you do something creative with no outcome in mind. The goal is joy, not perfection.
Turn off the inner critic
Creativity can’t breathe in an environment of constant self judgement. Yet that inner critic - the one whispering “you’re not good enough” or “this isn’t real art” - tends to get louder when we’re out of practice.
To quiet that voice, it helps to separate the process from the product. Tell yourself:
“Right now, I’m not making something to show the world. I’m making something to feel alive.” Some people find it helpful to create in secret - a private sketchbook, a journal, or a folder on your phone that one one sees. Removing the audience, even an imagined one, allows you to experiment freely. You might even surprise yourself with what emerges when no one’s watching.
Changing your environment
Sometimes, your creative block isn’t internal - it’s environmental. The same workspace, routine, or surroundings can start to feel stale. Try shifting your creative context.
Move your table near a window. Re-arrange your tools. Play different music. Work in a cafe, park, or a community studio.
Even small sensory shifts - lighting a candle, opening a window, using a new notebook - can rewire your brain’s associations and signal that this is a fresh start.
Creativity loves novelty, but novelty doesn’t have to be dramatic, It’s often the quiet, unexpected changes that open new doors.
Play without Purpose
Many adults forget how to play. Yet play is the heart of creativity. It's the act of exploring with curiosity, without needing to justify or perfect the result.
Try doing something deliberately silly or unfamiliar - finger painting, making doodles with your non-dominant hand, writing nonsense poetry, or creating a collage from junk mail.
Play interrupts the perfectionist mindset. It reminds you that making mistakes, the freer your creativity becomes.
Remember, every masterpiece starts as a mess.
Limit Comparison
It’s easy to lose your creative confidence when you see others producing beautiful, polished work whilst you feel stuck.
But what you see online is a highlight reel - not the hours of uncertainty, self doubt, and half finished projects behind it.
Creativity isn’t a competition; it's a conversion. The world doesn’t need another version of someone else’s work - it needs your voice, your perspective, your quirks.
If comparison has someone paralysed, take a break from social media. Or follow creators who share their processes honestly, not just the finished product. See community, not competition.
Notice what you consume
The quality of your creative output is shaped by what you take in - not just visually, but emotionally and mentally.
If your days are filled with noise, stress or negativity, your mind won’t have the space to wander or imagine. Creativity thrives in stillness.
Try to build small pockets of calm into your day:
A quiet cup of tea before work.
Ten minutes of journaling or sketching.
A short walk without her phone.
Music that soothes, not overstimulates
These moments aren’t distractions - they’re compost for creativity.
Find a community that feels safe
Sometimes creativity returns when we are witnessed - not judged, but seen. Join a local art group, or craft circle where people share skills and stories.
Or find an online space that feels supportive rather than competitive.
Sharing creative energy with others reminds you that you are not alone in the struggle. Everyone- even professional artists - loses their spark sometimes. Community brings warmth back into the process and helps you see your creativity reflected through others eyes.
Getting your creativity back isn’t about forcing yourself to make again. It’s about forcing yourself to make again. It’s about remembering who you are when you do. You are not empty - you are replenishing. You are not behind - you’re gathering strength. Then when you finally feel that familiar hum of inspiration again, it will feel all the more powerful because you’ll know it came from pressure, but from patience. Creativity is always there. Sometimes, it just needs a little quiet space to breathe.
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