How to Get Into a Creative Flow When You Don’t Feel Like Writing

A practical guide to writing with ease.

As a writer or content creator, your creativity and productivity are your most precious resources. Without creative ideas and the ability to turn them into actual output, you won’t be able to build a sustainable creative career.

And while creativity often seems to be ungraspable, you can actually apply various strategies to get into a creative flow and stay there as long as possible. Sometimes, all we need are effective routines that help us to produce our best work when we don’t feel like writing at all.

Don’t wait for inspiration

The worst you can do as a writer is to wait for inspiration or the perfect day, weather, mood, or conditions to start writing.

Instead, focus on building routines and applying strategies that help you to write even if you don’t feel like it. Because you won’t feel like writing every day. On some days, all you’ll want is not writing, but you’ll still have to keep going.

Particularly as a new writer, the number of words you type plays a significant role in the quality of your work.

While you can read tons of books and watch dozens of courses, the only way to become a better writer is by writing. Thus, the ability to sit down and write without excuses can significantly impact your life as a writer.

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”— E.B. White

Balancing comfort and stress

Highly productive writing is often the result of balancing comfort and routines with stress and chaos.

If every day looks the same, and you’re always feeling comfortable, the amount of new, fresh ideas will likely diminish. Without making new experiences, we lack new emotions and thus fail to produce creative work.

While we often seek comfort and relaxation, our bodies and minds are meant for change and fragility in order to grow.

That’s why inflexible routines barely lead to creative output but instead limit our abilities and drop our productivity.

The opposite, however, is also bad: If you can’t even get 15 minutes to sit down and write, you’ll hardly be able to produce high-quality output either.

That’s why a creative flow happens right between both: Having routines and structures but also some chaos and flexibility to allow new ideas and emotions flow.

Being vibrant and adaptable is the key to increasing your creative and productive output.

The combination of feeling, idea, and time

To establish a creative writing flow, you need A) ideas, B) the feeling of writing, aka some sort of motivation, and C) time to write.

All these factors combined result in a creative flow and allow you to produce your best work.

If you, however, lack any of these components, you’ll struggle to get work done.

Having ideas and wanting to write but not having any time means you’re too busy and need to do some rescheduling and find some time to get your work done.

Having enough time and being motivated, but not knowing what to write is often called writer’s block. In that case, creating proper idea creation and management processes can help you to never run out of writing ideas.

Find your productive place

Over the past years, I talked to hundreds of writers and entrepreneurs, and almost all of them told me that their working environment plays a significant role in their productivity.

While some writers enjoy working from coffee shops, I hate it. I prefer my home office to any other place because it’s where I feel most comfortable and relaxed and write with the least effort.

Even though I mostly wear my headphones and put some background music on, I prefer total silence in my working area.

Yet, everyone has different preferences. I know some writers who can’t write in silence. Instead, they prefer sitting in little cafés or parks. While my partner is exceptionally productive at airports and in airplanes, I can’t get any work done when I’m on the go and instead use these times to read or organize my ideas.

Your workplace can have a significant impact on your productivity and creativity. If you aren’t aware of your ideal writing place yet, experiment a little and find out where you’re most productive.

I even know a few people who prefer writing from the kitchen table because they associate their regular work desk with their day job and with non-creative tasks. Thus, they find their kitchen table to be their creative place while their usual work desk is for all other tasks.

There’s no right or wrong, just find what works best for you and try to stick to it as much as possible.

Clean up your working area

Easy peasy, yet incredibly effective: Being distracted is one of the most common reasons why we fail to stay creative and productive. That’s why a clean, clear working area can sometimes work wonders.

Once you eliminate physical distraction, having a clear mind, and getting into a creative flow becomes easier. That’s why I start and end every workday by clearing up my workspace. This includes getting rid of used sticky notes, arranging pens, putting cups away, and leaving the place as clean as possible.

My workplace is also my living room, that’s why I usually tidy up the whole room before and after work.

In addition to cleaning up your desk, you can also clean up your digital spaces, such as your desktop. At the end of my workdays, I check my emails and desktop in order to eliminate anything that is not of value and that I won’t need anyway.

Having your space and devices cleaned up and getting rid of physical and digital distractions will allow you to get into a creative flow with more ease and joy.

Too often, we expect creativity to be something exceptional, yet, sometimes, all we need is some space to let our ideas flourish.

Find out when you’re most creative

Almost every creative mind I know has a preferred day of the time when they feel most prolific.

Many outrageous authors, for example, share that their favorite time for writing is early in the morning or late at night. Ernest Hemingway, for instance, loved writing in the morning. In an interview, he shared his routine:

“When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.”

We all have our peak times, and it’s much easier to create your best work during these times instead of forcing yourself through hard work when you don’t feel like it.

Sometimes, getting through hard seasons and forcing yourself to get the work done is necessary. Yet, whenever possible, stick to a routine that sparks your creativity and hold on to certain times of the day that help you to be most productive.

Being creative doesn’t mean lacking structure. On the contrary: Sometimes, structure and some simple rules can be effective creativity boosters.

Move and hydrate your body

Exercising, going for a short walk, or some stretching can be great ways to get your ideas flowing.

Various studies show that exercising can improve creativity. Additionally, the better you feel physically, the more mental energy you’ll have.

Find an exercising routine that helps you to get your blood and ideas flowing and make sure to move your body regularly.

If you don’t have time to hit the gym or go to exercising classes, turn your favorite music on and dance for a few minutes.

Additionally, don’t forget to drink enough water. Even though up to 60% of our bodies consist of water, more than 70% of all Americans are chronically dehydrated.

Yet, dehydration doesn’t only harm our health but also our mental abilities. Thus, staying hydrated is an inevitable part of being in a creative flow.

You can, for instance, prepare a few drinks such as a cup of tea or a bottle of water with your favorite fruits before starting your work session. If you’re working from a coffee shop, ask for an additional tall glass of water or just bring your own bottle.

Avoid heavy meals

Large carb and fat loaded meals can harm your productivity as well as your creative flow.

Instead of enjoying an entire pizza for lunch, a nutritious salad might be the better option to choose.

Be aware that the #1 reason to eat is to fuel your body with energy. And particularly pay attention to this rule when you’re working on critical, creative projects and want to get into a flow state.

Give yourself a break

Sometimes, it doesn’t make sense to force creativity. Instead, it’s more beneficial to step back from your keyboard and take a little break.

If done correctly, little breaks during writing sessions can help you to create even better and more content.

Two of my favorite activities during breaks are going for a walk and meditation. I found these two to be effective in detaching myself from my work and recharge for another productive writing session. Yet, if you find other activities to be more effective, go for it.

Your break could also consist of exercising, a cup of coffee, reading, cooking a meal, or whatever else helps you to let go of your work and unwind.

Use the power of sounds

Even though I prefer to be in silent rooms when writing, I do listen to deep focus music. Putting my over-ear headphones on is a pre-writing ritual and helps me to get into a creative writing state.

While listening to music with voice might be disturbing, sounds without voice such as rain, birds, or waves can be great creativity boosters. A Soft Murmur, for instance, is a website that provides ambient sounds to wash away distractions. You can not only choose from different sounds but even mix them up and create your own favorite sounds.

Another option is listening to binaural beats, as studies have shown that these can influence creativity.

Bottom Line

A creative flow often results from the combination of relaxation and tension. While writing routines are essential to save time and make the most of your time, irregularities are crucial to coming up with new, fresh ideas.

To get into a creative flow, you need:

• Motivation: Know why you’re doing what you’re doing and be aware of your big vision — what do you want to create as a writer?
• Ideas: Create proper idea generation and management systems to never feel stuck in writer’s block again.
• Time: Establish daily routines that help you save time and energy during your creation process.

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