Get out of that funk!

It's really, really tough to be creative and come up with new ideas when you're working really hard and dog tired!  When every day is filled to the bursting point with meetings, projects, and (of course) those last minute things that "need to get done now", time for creativity always seems to get shoved lower and lower on an ever-expanding todo list.

And then, after a while, you not only lose the time to be creative, you completely lose your ability to do so.  There is so much else to get done that adding one more mental task becomes impossible.

That's when you've found yourself in a creative funk. 

What's a creative funk? 

It's that horrible "I've got so much to do, and so many important things on my plate that I just don't have any brainpower to spare for anything" feeling.  It's when your brain is in survival mode, and you're tired, overworked, and struggling through a mountain of paperwork and mundane tasks that never seem to end.

Know that feeling?  I definitely do!  It's probably not all that uncommon to feel that way in this age of doing more with less.

So how do you get out of it?  Easy: all you have to do is add another thing to your plate!  (Yes, you read that correctly.)

The trick is to find something that--even though it takes up your time--doesn't sap your energy, and actually increases it.

For me, this was a Minnesota Recruiters learning event.  I was the only person there who isn't a recruiter, but the topic was social media and Jason Alba, a blogger I've known for a while even though we've never actually met, was the speaker.

It was great to listen to him speak because I'd forgotten is something that I actually really love to do.  Buried in a new job, I'd started thinking blogging was just another thing that cluttered up my already-lengthy todo list.  But it's not!  It's fun to search for cool ideas, find something to say about them, and then to interact with like-minded people online!

It was so much fun talking to everyone at the event that I ended up going to dinner with a group of extremely cool people (Steven, Paul, Rick and Jason). And Just like that, the creative funk was gone. I finally drove home way too late--but just bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm.

So, that last minute sign-up for an event that I didn't have time for, on the exact opposite side of the Twin Cities, with a group of people I didn't know, during my rare and precious free time... was exactly the revitalizer my brain so desperately needed.

Logically, adding another thing to a busy schedule is an awful idea.  But doing something that gets you excited and enthusiastic again is totally worth the effort. 

Give it a try next time you get overwhelmed.  It's the only time when doing more actually makes you less tired!