We’ve all had them, the creative slumps, blocks, emptiness. Whatever you call it, if you call yourself a creative, you know exactly what it is I’m talking about.

I have recently had a bout with the creative block, where absolutely everything I would do just wasn’t turning out as I had it in my minds eye. So I decided to try something different this time. Instead of relying on all the old stand by ideas to get myself out of my rut, I did something new. I went back to something old.

I decided to pick up a project that had been relegated to the back of the closet, probably put there in another one of my creative slumps, and finish it. Not just work on it a little bit, but really finish it. And if you’re anything like me, you know you have a stack of those unfinished projects somewhere too. They may be sitting in your drafts folder, or in a basket near your sewing machine, or on that music stand. Whatever the project is, it’s somewhere not far from where you are now. Okay, maybe you threw one or two out, but I bet if you look around, there are more, there always are.

While I was working on said “old” project, I suddenly realized that the creative juices were indeed flowing again. Not only did I finish the project I picked up, but I had ideas for 4 new blog posts (5 if you include this one), an epiphany on how to embellish another item that I was working on, and finally a name for a character in a story I’ve been trying to write for… well let’s just say for a while now.

The fresh eye that I brought to the old project also brought a new perspective on what was bogging me down before. So even if you have one or twenty one unfinished projects, don’t beat yourself over the head because nothing is done and you feel your creativity has slipped away. Take a step back. Do something you haven’t done in a while and finish just one thing. And make it a doable something. Don’t expect to finish painting your all time masterpiece. Just pick up one of the smaller items, and get it done. You’ll be amazed at what that will do to boost your creativity again, not to mention make room for something else to be worked on too.

So I ask, what do you do to kickstart your creative juices again when they’ve run dry? Share your ideas in the comments.