Sometimes I feel like I have absolutely nothing. Like the well is dry and I’m stuck.
Not even a bad idea. Just… dust.
I’ve sat in front of a blank sheet of paper, an open Illustrator file, or a table full of materials—my heart pounding, a deadline looming—and had the overwhelming feeling that I have nothing to offer. Not today. Maybe not ever again.
And that’s terrifying when your job is to make something out of nothing.
But after more than a decade of creating custom stationery for clients who want to be known and remembered, I’ve realized something important:
Feeling stuck doesn’t mean you’re broken.
It means you’re paying attention.
It means I’m listening to myself and the world around me. Owning that the idea isn’t quite ripe yet—or maybe it’s still undiscovered.
So what do I do when I’m stuck?
Here are a few things that work for me. Not all at once. And not perfectly. But they get me moving again:
1. I make something small (with no expectations)
Sometimes I grab scraps from the studio floor—literal throwaways—and try to make something interesting. A collage. A sketch. A note to myself.
It doesn’t have to be good. It just has to exist.
The pressure to create something worthy is often what stops me. So I make something unworthy on purpose. This can get the block moving.
2. I work with my hands
When I’m in my head too much, my hands remind me what I’m capable of.
Even folding paper or cleaning my workspace helps (and my studio always needs cleaning). It gets me back in my body. And once I’m there, ideas tend to find me again.
3. I tell someone what I’m stuck on
This one’s big. Saying the problem out loud—even in a voice memo to myself—starts to unknot it.
Sometimes I’ll call a friend. Other times, I’ve hired someone to help me see the bigger picture when I’ve lost it. Getting unstuck doesn’t have to be a solo sport.
4. I remind myself that silence doesn’t mean absence
The muse doesn’t always talk loud.
Sometimes she just sets things in motion quietly. I’ve learned to trust that.
It’s not always easy. But it’s almost always true.
If you’re a creative and in one of those dry spells right now…
You’re not alone. It’s not just you. And it’s not a flaw.
If you want help sorting through the mental clutter, I offer something called a Spark Session—a one-hour call for creatives who feel stuck, foggy, or disconnected from their voice. It’s part clarity session, part reset button, and it’s helped some really incredible people get moving again.
Or keep making small things.
They count too.