The Surprising Habit That Made Me More Creative (and Why It Works)

This shift boosted my creativity — and it’s helped me grow my content and side hustles

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

If you’re a content creator, you’ve probably hit that wall before — the infamous creative slump.

It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. One day, you’re on a roll producing content, and the next, you’re staring blankly at your laptop, waiting for ideas that refuse to come.

I’ve been there more times than I can remember.

I’d sit at my desk for hours, opening a blank document or spreadsheet, trying to force out ideas. I would schedule time in my calendar called ‘Idea Time’ and I’d come out of the other end with 0 ideas.

Sometimes, I’d even turn to ChatGPT to expand on concepts. And while AI can be fantastic at helping refine or structure thoughts, it’s not always the best at creating brand-new, evergreen ideas.

When that didn’t work, I’d default to distractions: opening YouTube, scrolling Instagram, or letting Netflix autoplay something in the background. I told myself that maybe inspiration would strike another day.

But the truth was: I needed a different environment to spark my creativity.