You hear it often in the scrapbook world that sometimes elusive thing called Mr. Mojo has up and disappeared. Being creative types, it can often be difficult and frustrating to deal with the loss of our mojo and running into our own *creative block*. We have all encounter our moments where the creative juices have stopped flowing, making it easy to become friends with Mr.Mojo’s enemies, overwhelmed and burnt out. Here are some ways to help keep out those pesky feelings of being overwhelmed and/or burnt out and become friends with Mr. Mojo again!
1. Try Something New
Sometimes it is easy to get stuck in our ways. We have a certain way we like to scrapbook and after time all of our pages/projects start to look the same. This can be a big strain on our creative friend Mr. Mojo. As we go along in our craft, we need to allow room to learn and grow. The best way to help ourselves to grow is to allow ourselves to try something new and sometimes take ourselves out of that *comfort zone*. Whether you try out a new scrap style, technique, or product, it just might be the thing your mojo needed!
2. Know Yourself
We are all not only different when it comes to our scrapping styles and ways, but also what keeps us motivated or in that creative frame of mind. Listen to yourself and learn when those creative spikes are best for you. Maybe you’re a night owl and waiting until that midnight ding on the clock will better help keep your creative raft afloat. Or maybe you’re that early bird who needs to set the clock to dig into your project before the day begins. Get in tune with yourself and find that perfect time for your creativity to be set free.
3. Take a Break
Clearing your mind and getting away for a bit can be your best friend. Do you find yourself staring at your layout or project with a complete blank? Step away and do something else for a while. Do another hobby, clean a room (yes, I know, what is this thing called cleaning?!) or just get out of the house. Give yourself that well needed break and allow your mind to refresh itself.
4. Play That Funky Music
One of my biggest motivators is music. It can easily transform me from that funky can’t do to can do attitude. So put on your favorite get me motivated songs and get that creativity pumping again.
5. Keep a Journal of Ideas
We all can find inspiration in our everyday. Have you seen a magazine layout that would make a great page? Love a layout you seen in a gallery? Inspired by colors from your favorite clothing line? There are countless places and things that can inspire your creative side. Start keeping a journal or idea book of things that inspire you. When you feel that sneaky Mr. Mojo starting to slip away, pop open that journal and find your way back to your creativity.
Have you encountered a creative slump? What did you do to bounce back?
5 Ways to Beat That Creative Slump
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Great ideas! Creative slumps can be no fun. #3 works best for me. It seems any time I can’t do something creative, the creative urge hits! Go figure!
Thanks! That is SO true about #3! It does seem that creativity can strike you in those non creative moments.
i had a 36 hour GI bug that lasted 36 days {that’ll wipe out your mojo for sure}
as soon as i felt better, i grabbed a few templates and did some challenges, sure got my creative juices going again!
browsing galleries is always great inspiration too!
great post!
thanks for sharing!
deborah 🙂
Great ideas Deborah! Templates and challenges are another fabulous way to get those juices flowing again!
Great tips Becca! I find music helps me, too – but I can’t have it on my headphones. For some strange reason, it works better coming from the stereo, like surround sound. Go figure. When I last really lost my mojo, I blogged about it – I told Mr. Mojo (LOL, funny, I made it male, too) that I had no idea why he left, but he’s better not do it again once he returned. I wrote the blog post like I was chastising a child for being naughty and running away. ROFL Strange things go on inside my head, I gotta say. However, in the end, it was quite cathartic, in a way.
I think that is brilliant about the blog post, Kat! What a way to take Mr. Mojo on head on! Sometimes we do just have to confront the issue and take back control. 🙂
Great ideas!! I really like participating in challenges to get my mojo flowing again. They get me thinking in ways that I likely haven’t before.
Challenges are a fabulous way to help break through that slump. Sometimes we all need that extra push to think outside of the box and try new things.
Great post. For me, I go to #1 a lot when I’m feeling in a slump. Lately, though, I’ve been following that saying, “Everything old is new again.” I’ve gone back to paper scrapbooking for about a month and a half, backed off from my digital scrapbooking and digital CTs, and headed back up into that lonely old room upstairs that holds a ton of paper and pretty ribbons. 🙂 Being able to alternate between digital and paper scrapping as well as cardmaking helps me move to another creative activity instead of getting totally deadlocked.
Yes! It definitely helps to break up the routine. Trying out other artistic mediums is always a great help! Thanks for joining the conversation!