Creative Blocks and How to Build with Them

You're always told there are ways to overcome a block in your progress.  Maybe you actually have a Point A and B, a plan to start and a plan to finish, but it's that dastardly middle that keeps you pinned with indecision.

Sometimes it's a paralyzing sort of thing.  People will say to just start putting things down outside of your main project, doesn't matter what it is just write/draw/move but there's this very real block holding you immobile.  So maybe they suggest stepping away from everything, but it's still taking over your mind every chance it gets.

I myself either have extreme obsessive focus or am completely unable to stick to any one thing at all.  Once this was a thing I was conscious of, I let that guide which options were feasible.  When I am ready to focus with razor precision and I have the confidence for the main project, that's the one I'm doing.  Maybe my hyperfocus isn't confident, so I'll take that time to filter either non-fiction into a blog or fanfic when it's a creative bug.  Sometimes it's writing that is the problem altogether.  This goes the same way-- try the main projects.  No good?  Move onto a leisure project.  Sometimes that hyperfocus can last a full 'shift': 8+ hours.  Other times, I might get a few hours followed by the sudden urge to flit around.  These used to strike me as a sudden block, a source of panic, but I've learned to see them as building blocks that help shift my talents to where they are most valuable.

This sort of organized chaos might not be a good solution for people on a deadline.  In that case, I don't really have good advice for you.  I am not brilliant with deadlines and my only strategy is to extend if possible, panic and do your best otherwise.  Rushed work can still be spectacular, but often you'll feel less confident in the results.  Especially if it's your own damn fault for putting it off.

Maybe you had plenty of time, but you didn't know how to build from blocks.  It doesn't hurt to try it.  If you don't have enough options, it's a good time to start some hobbies.  There are a lot of inexpensive and free options and you aren't wasting time when you decide it's not for you.  Finding out both sates your curiosity and helps you become more attuned to yourself.

Ah, but wasting time is a sentiment I am not fond of.  People use it in a very bitter sense to describe failed relationships, failed projects, etc. and it may be a failed effort, but it is not a waste of time.  You might get anal-retentive about time management (your method of building made me WASTE MY TIME for an hour before I could start getting anything done).  Yeah, it's not for everyone, but I can tell you now, I am far more productive than ever.  Ask anyone who hears about what I do in a day and they will call me an overachiever.  Sometimes they feel a tad underachieving, but mostly my victories tend to motivate people.  Sometimes I go months with nothing to show and then I'll roll out ten projects at once and come off as a wunderkind.  Things are done in smaller parts but I am always able to dedicate my total passion and maximum focus to everything I do.

The concept is pretty simple: try until it pulls you in.  Sometimes you have to go a full 15 minutes at a project to decide it's something to stick with.  You might roll your eyes and whine at yourself that it's a waste of time, it's not working then bam, you lied to yourself.  Not everything you can do is going to be something you're 100% about.  Be willing to waste a little time to utilize your potential.  That hour of indecision might lead to a 12 hour working day.

On a side note, I would not advise working this kind of time STRAIGHT.  Be smart about this.  There are studies always reminding people, aim for a 5 minute break every hour.  Don't try to combine your breaks, like deciding you'll just take 25 minutes in 5 hours.  This is how people end up with deep vein thrombosis or those nasty clots that kill you without warning.  Break consistently even if you have to walk around in an impatient haze and shove a handful of almonds in your mouth.  I know how creativity can be an obsession, but your productivity, energy, and health levels will tank over time.  Sometimes it takes years before you realize you reached rock bottom on bodily neglect.  Don't panic that a break will create a block.  If you're a long way from a comfortable stopping point,  jot some notes and you'll have what you need to charge back in.  

Creative blocks suck, but the mandatory ones where you hurt yourself or run yourself into a forced hiatus are far worse.  I had crocheted so much one time that I incurred a painful (and revolting) condition called trigger thumb.  I woke up every morning and pop! The tendon would crack sickeningly when I had to move it to ease the pain of immobility.  I thought it might snap entirely.  And this lasted six weeks.  Six weeks where I couldn't use that hand at all or risk permanent damage.  So next time you swear you are young enough or healthy enough in your current state to ignore any sound advice,  you're wrong.  And I told you so.  File that for future lamentation.  RSIs happen at any age, regardless of your health, and if you rely on your hands for a living, it can cost you even more.

Create responsibly.  Although I absolutely hope you test all other limits of people's imaginations, take care of your mental and physical health first and foremost.