Breaking the Block: 10 Ways to Get Out of a Creative Rut
By Charisse Moratelli | August 27, 2025
Every creative person hits a wall. Sometimes it’s a bad brainstorming session. Sometimes it’s a blank page that stares back a little too hard. And sometimes, it’s just... nothing. No spark. No flow. No idea where to begin or how to move forward, just an echo and a blank stare.
After 17 years as a graphic designer (and now working across digital marketing and content creation), I’ve had my share of ruts (canyons, some might say). Some last a couple of hours, and some put me in an extended slump. The good news? You don’t have to wait for inspiration to strike. In fact, the worst thing you can do is sit and stew. You can build systems, habits, and little jolts that help get your creative juices flowing.
Here are 10 ways to get unstuck — whether you’re designing, writing, editing, filming, or just trying to make something worth sharing.
1. Change Your Inputs
Stuck? Stop STARING at the problem. Start feeding your brain something new.
Browse a bookstore and pick up a magazine you’d never read.
Go to a museum or listen to a podcast outside your niche.
Read a book or watch a documentary on a topic that excites you.
Great creative output requires fresh input.
2. Do Something You Love For 10 Minutes
When you’re stuck, your instinct might be to power through — but sometimes, the best move is to step away and do something that makes you genuinely happy.
Cook something.
Garden.
Touch grass.
Dance.
Pet your dog.
Joy opens creative channels that pressure shuts down. When your brain feels good, it’s more willing to try again.
3. Move Your Body. (My personal favorite)
Some of my best ideas have come to me mid-run, on a walk, or mid-stretch in the kitchen.
Movement shakes up mental patterns.
Even a 10-minute walk can change your perspective.
Bonus for content creators constantly staring at a device: Leave your dang phone at home and let your brain wander!
4. Listen to Music (But Intentionally)
Music can bypass creative blocks and get your emotions talking.
Create a playlist that matches the mood you’re trying to create. I’ve done this with my Italian Restaurant client. Mambo Italiano and Frank Sinatra transport me back to the right mindset.
Try instrumental soundtracks if you need to write, focus, or shut out life problems you’re dealing with. I personally love Mozart.
5. Switch Your Medium
If you always type, try handwriting. If you design in Canva, try sketching.
Changing how you create changes what you create.
Even something like rearranging your workspace can unstick a stale flow.
6. Collaborate, Even Casually
Sometimes the best way forward is someone else’s question.
Call a creative friend or co-worker and ask what they’re working on.
Show a rough draft to someone outside your field.
Let conversation reveal what your brain’s been holding back.
7. Remind Yourself: It Won’t Always Be Like This (ok, say it again)
When you’re in a creative block, it can feel endless. Like your spark is gone for good.
But here’s the truth: this moment is temporary! Your flow will come back. It always does.
Creativity isn’t linear. It comes in waves.
Saying “It won’t always be like this” shifts you from panic to perspective.
That little bit of hope softens the block — and makes space for new ideas to return.
8. Change Your Environment
Where you create affects how you create. If you’re always staring at the same wall, desk, or browser tabs, your brain can start to associate that space with feeling stuck.
Try working from a coffee shop, a library, or take it outside
If you can’t leave, switch rooms, work on the floor, or take your laptop outside (fresh air does wonders for me).
Even small environmental shifts (lighting, scents, sounds) can change how your brain engages.
9. Rest Without Guilt
This one’s uncomfortable for overachievers (raises hand slowly), but essential.
Not every pause is procrastination.
Give yourself a real break—and protect it. Some of your most creative ideas will come when you’re not trying to create.
10. Give Yourself Grace (arguably the most important IMO)
You’re not a machine. You’re a human being, not an endless idea factory. Sometimes, the kindest (and smartest) thing you can do is step away, remind yourself of your worth outside your work, and trust that your creativity hasn’t left — it’s just resting or needs a recharge. Give it permission to return when it’s ready.
You’re allowed to have slow days. Low-energy days. Off days.
No one — no one — operates at 100% creative capacity, 24/7.
Grace doesn’t mean giving up. It means giving space.
Creative ruts aren’t a flaw — they’re part of the process! But you don’t have to stay stuck. Try one (or three) of these, shake up your inputs, and keep moving forward. You never know what’s on the other side of a block — until you break through it!
Charisse Moratelli
Charisse is a Social Media Content Creator at AMR Digital with 16 years of experience in the graphic design and fashion industry. When she’s not bringing creative visions to life, she's most likely spotted on the 50-yard line where she’s living and breathing youth football.