How I Deal With a Creative Slump

In the mid-2000s, well over a decade ago, a friend of mine told me something about life cycles. I don't remember if it was a Chinese thing or some other, but it was one from an ancient tradition, the kind that certain folks come up with by observing the patterns of people's lives. Yes, them ancient folks had enough free time to do that.

It basically says that the peaks and lows of a person's life happens in nine-year cycles. I also don't remember when these cycles were supposed to start, but once he applied that nine-year cycle rule to my life, my next slump was supposed to start in my late 40s, valleying at 49 or 50, with the next peak happening at 54 or 55.

I didn't think of it much, me being in my mid-30s then, as these sorts of prognostications were amusing at most. 

But, lo and behold, I'm in a major slump, at least for the personal projects. I have to pump out those creative energies for my contractual work, but when it comes to the stuff I want to do for myself, all I get get is a sputtering, not much of a spark.

In my drawing class, one of the students asked how I dealt with "art block." Below are my strategies that have worked for me, and what I'm doing right now.

1) Decluttering. My room has accumulated too much stuff, somehow reflecting the clutter in my brain, so I've been spending the past few weeks going through every pile and reorganizing. I purchased lots of storage boxes so I could categorize everything that needed categorizing. I'm trying to do a Marie Kondo. What's great about decluttering and reorganizing is finding stuff from the past that bring up good memories, reminding me of where I've been. What's challenging, however, are the small items that you have no immediate use for, but might be useful down the line. Like that watercolor set I purchased over a year ago but never touched. Also, there's the books.

2) Walking. Apart from the health benefits, walking around the neighborhood and beyond gives me new stimulation. I get a kick out of looking at nice houses and discovering stores and shops and small restos. I would spend an hour doing this, walking briskly, about three times a week. I need to get new shoes.

3) Blogging. I haven't been blogging for many months, so why not do so while I'm in a slump? Not only do I get to practice writing, I also get to jog my brain for stuff to write about. It's mental decluttering, and I get to write lengthily without having to say TL:DR.

4) Practicing Mindfulness with New Knowledge. Whether it's through podcasts, non-fiction books, or videos, consuming new content is a great way to help fire up the imagination. But over the past couple of years, I've been pressuring myself to produce, and I've never committed enough time to effectively process the stuff I've been learning. With mindfulness, I can just focus on reflection and processing. No pressure.

5) Spending time on Clubhouse. This is a special one, because not many people have access to Clubhouse as of this writing. If you're not familiar with Clubhouse, it's the newest social media platform, and it's audio based. Think Zoom without the video, and it's a free-for-all. It launched only last year, and the userbase has been rapidly growing. It's currently available on iOS. Clubhouse is like a building with many conference rooms hosting a variety of user-generated topics, from creating your own business to romance to politics to art. Many have been using it for networking, panel discussions, town hall meetings, or simple get-togethers. I've moderated a couple of discussions so far, and it's a joy being able to connect with people from all over the world. It's a great way to find inspirations for stories.

Another thing that I've been doing is posting less on Facebook.

At this point, I haven't been drawing too much, but I'll get there eventually. One of my ultimate objectives is to create what they call a "passive income machine." I've already started one through Gumroad, but I need to take a few more steps to get things more automated. 

How do you deal with your creative slump?

That's about it. Have to get back to decluttering the room.