How To Stay Creative When You're Not Feeling Creative: Simple Tips For Artists
Let's be honest.
Being an artist sounds great when you're in the zone.
You've got ideas everywhere.
You're writing lyrics in your notes app at 2am. You've got 4 different hooks going. You hear a beat and instantly know what you're going to do with it.
Everything just feels easy.
And then...
Nothing.
You open your laptop.
Stare at the screen.
Open your DAW.
Close it.
Open Spotify.
Scroll Instagram.
Watch someone else blow up.
And suddenly you're wondering why you're even bothering.
If you've been making music for a while, you'll know this feeling.
The important thing is, it doesn't mean you've lost your creativity.
Sometimes your brain just needs a bit of a kick up the arse.
So here's a few simple things you can do when your creative flow starts disappearing.
1. Stop trying to make a hit
This one sounds obvious, but it's actually really important.
Sometimes we put way too much pressure on every song.
"This needs to be better than my last one."
"This one needs to go viral."
"I need people to like this."
"This could be my big song."
And suddenly you're not being creative anymore.
You're trying to impress people you haven't even met.
Forget the streams for a minute.
Forget the algorithm.
Forget what other artists are doing.
Just make something you like.
Make a weird song.
Make a song that's too slow.
Make something that probably won't get released.
Sometimes your best ideas come when you stop trying to make something important.
2. Keep a stupid amount of ideas
Seriously.
Don't trust yourself to remember a good idea.
You won't.
That melody you thought was amazing yesterday?
Gone.
That lyric you came up with in the shower?
Gone.
That hook you thought was going to change your life?
You can't even remember the first line.
Write it down.
Record a voice note.
Save the beat.
Take the video.
Whatever it is, keep it.
You don't have to finish every idea.
You're just building a little bank of creativity that you can go back to when you're stuck.
3. Change your environment
If you're always creating in exactly the same place, doing exactly the same thing, sometimes your brain just gets bored.
Go for a walk.
Take your headphones.
Listen to something completely different.
Go sit somewhere you've never written before.
Write in the car.
Make a beat on your phone.
Go to a show.
Talk to another artist.
Do something that isn't music.
It sounds backwards, but life gives you things to write about.
If you're spending every day in the same room staring at the same screen, eventually you're going to run out of things to say.
Go live a little.
4. Don't compare your chapter 3 to somebody else's chapter 30
This is probably the biggest one.
You see somebody else's music career moving.
They're getting millions of streams.
They're getting booked for shows.
People are using their songs.
Their Instagram is growing.
And you're sat there thinking:
"Why isn't that happening for me?"
But you have no idea how long they've been working.
You don't see the songs that flopped.
You don't see the years nobody cared.
You don't see the nights they nearly gave up.
You see the result.
Not the process.
So stay in your lane.
Your job isn't to beat somebody else's career.
Your job is to make your next song better than your last one.
That's it.
5. Make something every day... even if it's rubbish
This doesn't mean you need to release music every day.
Please don't.
It just means keep the creative muscle moving.
Write 4 lines.
Make a drum pattern.
Find a new sound.
Write a chorus.
Record a freestyle.
Make a beat.
Try a different vocal effect.
Spend 15 minutes doing something creative.
Some days you'll make something amazing.
Other days it'll sound absolutely terrible.
Who cares?
You're still practising.
And sometimes the rubbish ideas lead you to the good ones.
6. Finish things
This is one I wish more artists took seriously.
We love starting songs.
New beat.
New idea.
New hook.
New project.
New folder.
"Album FINAL v7."
😂
But finishing songs teaches you something completely different.
You learn how to structure.
You learn when to stop changing things.
You learn how to actually get music out into the world.
Not everything needs to be perfect.
Sometimes you just need to say:
"Right. It's done."
Move on.
Make the next one.
7. Remember why you started
This sounds cheesy.
I know.
But sometimes you genuinely need to remind yourself.
Before the streams.
Before followers.
Before trying to get on playlists.
Before worrying about algorithms.
Before checking how many people watched your TikTok...
You probably just loved making music.
You liked hearing a beat and thinking:
"I could do something with that."
You liked writing.
You liked recording.
You liked hearing your own voice back.
You liked creating something that didn't exist before.
Don't lose that person.
Because that's probably the reason you're still here.
And finally... don't mistake slow progress for no progress
This is probably the biggest thing I want you to take away.
Just because things aren't moving quickly doesn't mean they're not moving.
Maybe your streams haven't exploded.
Maybe your social media isn't growing.
Maybe nobody is knocking on your door.
Maybe you're still trying to figure out your sound.
That's alright.
You're learning.
You're improving.
You're building a catalogue.
You're becoming better at writing.
You're becoming better at recording.
You're figuring out what works and what doesn't.
You might not see the results yet.
But that doesn't mean the work is pointless.
Keep creating.
Keep experimenting.
Keep writing the rubbish songs.
Keep making the good songs.
Keep finding beats.
Keep recording.
Keep learning.
And most importantly...
stay curious.
Because you never know which random idea you mess around with today could become the song that changes everything tomorrow.
So go make something.
It doesn't have to be perfect.
It doesn't even have to be good.
It just has to exist.
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