It’s like coming to a stalemate with yourself. You shift your weight to the other side (why is this chair suddenly so uncomfortable), press your fingers into your temples (yes, there’s a sensation, I am still alive), take a deep breath (in-with-the-ideas), look off into the distance and exhale slowly. It’s like bye-bye creative copywriting.

Blank.

They’re gone. The creative juices, the spark, the ability to inspire; vanished. Fatigued and weathered with a sleet of fog. Your poor brain. Maybe it’s been an arduous 48 hours, or you’ve felt this way for a couple of weeks now.

Whilst it’s small in terms of an offering, the solace I can extend is that you, dear friend, are not alone in your dampened creative flame. It may feel saturated and soggy beyond belief, but it is salvageable and I have five tips: a gentle nudge, if you will.

Give it a rest.

Seemingly counter-intuitive and yet touted left, right and centre, taking a quick (or substantial) break can do wonders for those creative juices. I often become overly absorbed in creative copywriting for websites and will overwork my thoughts until I’m drawing blank after blank. The only real remedy is to step away, pour a glass of wine and lose myself in a book for the rest of the evening… But I’ll let you get creative with the outlet.

Absorb more, create less.

Open Pinterest. And start scrolling. Or, open Instagram. And start scrolling. Use other ideas and content to inspire yourself and get the cogs turning again. Whether it’s copywriting for marketing, a product launch strategy or social media scheduling – take to absorbing some of the good stuff already around you.

Buy flowers, eat a peach.

Yes. You read correctly. Pick them from your own garden (if you’re that way inclined. I tip my hat to you, green thumb), support a local florist or drop $8 on a posy at Woolworths. While you’re at it, stash your phone deep into your pocket, take a meaningful breath of fresh air and stop thinking for a moment. The little things matter too.

Get a little chaotic.

Look for ideas in unlikely places. Watch a show at random on Netflix, walk through the homewares section of Target, re-read old content you created years ago, visit a physical library, take yourself on a nature walk. The list is endless, but coming up with the tone for next month’s newsletter doesn’t have to be done from a desk.

Ask questions.

Drop in to a Facebook thread, send an email, flick an old work friend a text. Sometimes corralling a brainstorming session to you and yourself is a little, self-limiting. After all, creativity is the result of two polar ideas, coming together to form something new. Who said both ideas had to come from the same person?