How to Kickstart Your Creativity (And Actually Enjoy It Again)

So, picture me: sitting at my desk, staring at the blank screen, eating a second breakfast just to avoid opening Photoshop.

Here, let me help:
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I wasn’t uninspired. I was numb.

As a designer and strategist for the last 20 years, I’ve spent my life putting business and clients first—always putting my creativity to work for something. Oh trust me, I can kill it when it comes to helping clients. I’ve got direction, boldness, ideas for days. I’m fearless and eager when it’s for someone else.

But recently, I started a side project where I want to build my own creative business. Something for me. And I hit a freaking wall.

Not only have I been quietly dealing with burnout for a while… now I started to really feel it. Like deep-in-my-bones, where-did-my-spark-go kind of burnout.

Not being creative for the sake of creativity has sucked my soul dry.

I realized I was afraid to make something just because.

Afraid to create without a strategy, a goal, a buyer in mind. No end user = no creativity? That hit me hard.

In the business world, we preach clarity, ideal customer, goal-driven action—and that stuff is important. But when I sat down to do art for no one but me, with no plan to sell it… I froze.

I lost it.

So, I did something small. I signed up for a painting class. I bought the materials. I haven’t started yet (waiting for them to be delivered)—but I already feel that little flicker of excitement again.

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And I wanted to share this messy in-between moment. Because it reminded me of something powerful:

Sometimes, you have to create simply because you’re a creative being.
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No end goal. No funnel. No market research.

Just joy. Just wonder. Just making things for the sake of being alive.

We should be setting aside at least 1–2 days a month for this kind of pure creative joy.
No end goal.
No performance.
No pressure.
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Just time to play, explore, and remember why we started. Because when we make space for joy, the spark has room to show up again.

So, how about we make a goal and literally Schedule 1–2 "appointments" a month to make absolute creative nonsense.
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“Block off a day. Make a mess. Call it sacred.”

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**Literally put it in your calendar now and title it "Appointment - Creativity". Treat it just like a doctors appointment. Cause aint nobody want to pay for the 'missed appointment' fee.

No goals. No clients. No pressure. Just messy, joyful, soul-sparking play. Because you’re not a machine—you’re a wildly creative human who deserves to make stuff for the fun of it.

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Kickstarting Creativity: The Soulful Way
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1. Make Something Ugly on Purpose
   Seriously. Grab a Sharpie and draw with your non-dominant hand. Splatter paint like a toddler. Create for the joy, not the grid.
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2. Reconnect With Your Inner 10-Year-Old
   What did you love doing before likes and invoices were a thing? Do that. For me, it was gluing magazine clippings into sketchbooks. I started doing that again—and it was magic.
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3. Say No to ‘Should’ Projects
   If it doesn’t light you up, it’s a slow death march to burnout. Say yes to the weird, wonderful, unpostable ideas.
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4. Borrow Wonder
   Go to a museum. A thrift store. A playground. Watch a bug crawl. Wonder is the antidote to burnout.
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The Spark Test:

If you’re only creating what has a purpose, a plan, or a profit—it’s no wonder you feel empty.

So here’s your challenge: make something this week that will never be monetized. Just for your own delight.

That’s where the spark lives.

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