I made less this summer. It was the best business decision I've made.

Have you felt creatively stuck lately?

Have you felt creatively stuck lately?

Like you’ve hit a wall. You don’t know what to write anymore, or make, or even who you are when you’re not making something.

I have. All month.

I’ve spent most of it building the business and working with clients. Good work, work I’m grateful for. But somewhere in the middle of it I noticed how much I’d missed writing for no reason other than wanting to.

For weeks I kept asking the same question: what should I write about? The pressure to make it worth something made every blank page heavier than it needed to be.

Then I posted a note about not having to force content and it clearly hit a nerve.

When we force it, we make ourselves smaller. The writer in us knows the difference, even when we pretend not to. So notice which self is at the desk: the one writing out of obligation, or the one writing out of full spirit.

Fill your own cup first. It isn’t the most popular strategy out there. It’s the one that lasts.

So instead of forcing another essay, I started a list of the small things that bring me back to my own creativity.

These aren’t a checklist. Pick one, maybe two, whatever your creativity reaches for. If you’re stuck in the same place, I hope one or two help. What you need to make might not be popular or optimised. Make it anyway. It’s yours to make.

1. Write one page nobody will ever read.

2. Take a long walk with no podcast in your ears.

3. Read poetry instead of business content.

4. Create before you consume, first thing, before the phone.

5. Write down 50 tiny ideas without judging a single one.

6. Stop trying to sound clever. Write like you’re talking to a friend.

7. Spend a day without checking your analytics.

8. Make something with your hands: paint, bake, sketch, garden.

9. Give yourself permission to make something imperfect.

10. Remember why you started creating in the first place.

This summer I’m making room instead of making more. Less output, more strategic work, more space to think.

That’s also why I moved most of my business async. Fewer fixed calls, fewer things pinned to a clock. It’s the same instinct that has me writing on walks instead of forcing essays at the desk: the good work needs room and room is the one thing a full calendar never leaves you.

You’re allowed to do this too. Take the afternoon, the week, the whole slow month. Build your days around your energy instead of pushing against it. The work is always easier when you’re rested enough to want it.

We need time to think. Time to sit with a half-formed idea instead of rushing it onto the page. Time to just be, without turning every quiet moment into something to post.

Take the time. Build a life with room in it.

What’s one thing that helps you get unstuck when your creativity feels flat?

If you’d like someone alongside you while you find your voice again, I’ve opened a few async Substack support spots for the season. Just room to make something and a second pair of eyes when you want them.

Dimi| Marketing Strategist and Substack coach| Helping writers and creatives build newsletters with a clear identity and a brand that works.