Ruffles, Stripes, & 5 Things to Recharge Your Creativity

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Shirt:  SheIn, c/o (comes in 5 colors!)  |  Shorts:  J.Crew  |  Sandals:  BP Decker Lace-up Sandals (comes in 3 colors!) |  Handbag:  J.Crew (also love this and this one)  |  Necklace:  purchased via Rocksbox  |  Earrings:  Kendra Scott  |  Watch:  Christian Paul, c/o  |  Sunglasses:  J.Crew Factory

I know I’ve been rather absent, these last couple of months, and it has been one long bumpy ride on the Struggle Bus, yo!

A combination of life events and lack of inspiration, I would dread writing posts or putting outfits together.  Something I use to enjoy had started feeling like a chore, at best, and a measure of what I wasn’t doing right, at worst.

Ugh.

I knew I couldn’t keep going while feeling this way, and while I couldn’t help all of the things that were happening in my life, I COULD do some things to recharge my creativity!

After talking with a lot of my friends, I realized that there was a general “funk” everyone was battling, lately.  You know what I’m talking about, that general feeling of “blah”, the lack of motivation to do things, not feeling that creative spark, etc.  You want to do something to get out of this rut, but your brain just feels like it’s turned to mush.

Maybe you’ve been preoccupied with things at work, or dealing with a personal crisis.  Perhaps a major move to a new city or job is taking up your thoughts, or all of the above!

Whatever the cause may be, you aren’t alone. 🙂

This was SUPER helpful to remember, knowing that I wasn’t the only struggling with not feeling creative.

Whether you’re a blogger struggling to come up with fresh topics to write about, a mother wanting new meal inspo, or a teacher trying to come up with end-of-year activities, we ALL lose our creative spark from time to time, and there are many things in common that we can do to get it back!

So today, I thought I’d share with you 5 things that helped me to recharge my creativity:

Take a step back.

Sometimes just walking away from the things that you’re struggling with can give you a new perspective.  Blogging and social media?  Take a break.  Tired of cooking?  Ask your partner to take over for awhile.  I didn’t plan on taking a break, let alone such an extended one, from blogging and social media, but I’m SO glad I did!  My lack of creativity made it difficult to post things on Instagram, which in turn made me frustrated and perpetuated the rut I was in.  Not to mention, the new Instagram algorithm was enough to make me want to pull my hair out!  Walking away from it for a time really helped me to regain some perspective–Social media isn’t real life, and you can’t see what is going on behind the camera.

Get out.

Specifically, out of the house.  Get out, and go somewhere, a park, the mall, a new coffee shop…Find a new part of your city or town, and explore it.  A change of scenery will be refreshing and give you some inspiration.

Seek community.

Whether you seek out someone in your field or someone in a different walk of life, knowing that you aren’t alone and that others have also experienced a lack of creativity is encouraging.  Being a part of a blogging group on Facebook helped me to talk with other ladies who had also been going through a rut, and hearing them share their tips really helped me deal with my own blogging issues!  Knowing I wasn’t alone took a HUGE weight off my shoulders, and that this was just a phase that would pass.  I searched out blog posts that others had written about their experiences, and it gave me great insight into what I could try!  Lauren’s post was particularly helpful, so check it out!

Find inspiration.

The holy grail of inspo–Pinterest.  I let myself go down the rabbit hole, and it was AWESOME!  I looked through some of my old pins, followed new people both with similar and differing styles as me , and went on a pinning spree!  And not just outfit pins, I looked up ideas for home decor, things for Lilly, new cocktail recipes…you name it. 🙂  I created a couple of secret boards, where I keep a collection of things I want to try–this really helped me to keep a “list” of top favorites I can easily access for inspiration.

Ask your followers.

This can easily be done through a social media post or email survey–ask what your followers like/don’t like, what they’d like to see more of, etc.!  This is something that I haven’t done, yet, but something I am working on…asking what YOU think about Classy Sassy!

Yes, I originally started this blog for me, as a creative outlet, but it wouldn’t be anywhere without those who read it.  In the end, I want to write both what interests me AND what interests you!

This doesn’t have to apply just to bloggers, if you’re a teacher, your “followers” are your students.  If you’re a mother, your “followers” (quite literally, haha) are your partner and children.  What have they enjoyed?  What would they like to try?

You could be a blogger, struggling to come up with topics to write about, a mom tired of cooking the same meals each week, or figuring out what to do with the kids this summer, or a teacher trying to wind down for the year, but still trying to keep things fresh….

Whoever you may be, we all go through periods where we lose our creative spark, need some fresh inspiration, or a little boost in the motivation department.

You got this, girl!

WE got this.

What are some things YOU’VE done to recharge your creativity?  I’d love to hear from you!

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Stay Classy!

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