How to bust through creative burnout (trust me, I've written over 800 YAP articles!)

Creativity isn’t a faucet you can turn on and off.

And sometimes, no amount of "just take a break" advice is going to pull you out of a rut. If you’re feeling burnt out—or worse, working in an industry that feels about as exciting as watching paint dry—you’re not alone. Creativity slumps happen. Trust me, I have my fair share (daily.) The key is knowing how to get out of one.

You may think I’m writing this for you, dear reader, and I am. But I am also writing this in hopes that I can take my own advice for once in my life. See! We’re in this together now 😊. So, here’s how (I think) you reignite your creative spark, even when you feel drained, uninspired, or trapped in a… how to say, less-than-thrilling industry.

1. Stop looking for inspiration in your own industry.

If your job requires you to churn out finance content or insurance marketing, looking at what your competitors are doing will only lead to more of the same. Creativity thrives at the fringes, not in the echo chamber.

Try this instead:

• If you’re in healthcare, see how beauty brands simplify complex science for the masses.

• If you work in B2B tech, study how streetwear brands build hype (ahem, Supreme wrote the manual).

• If you’re in finance, steal storytelling tricks from true crime podcasts (seriously, they make numbers sound thrilling).

Cross-pollinating ideas from different industries is where real creativity happens.

2. Change the medium, not the message.

Sometimes the idea isn’t the problem. Sometimes it’s the format. If you’re stuck writing yet another boring whitepaper, what happens if you turn it into a graphic novel? A podcast? A mock late-night talk show? A song, for crying out loud.

Try this instead:

• Write your idea in a different format (a screenplay, a tweet, a meme).

• Change the platform (turn that dull LinkedIn post into a short, punchy TikTok script).

• Switch the POV (what would your campaign look like if written by an 8-year-old? A villain? A stand-up comedian?).

Creativity isn’t just about the idea—it’s also about how you present it.

3. Make it fun again, even if you have to lie to yourself.

Creativity dies the second it starts feeling like a chore. That’s how you end up on the hamster wheel of doom (ask me how I know). The best way to snap out of burnout? Find a way to make it feel like play again.

Try this instead:

• Set a dumb restriction (e.g., “I can only use five words to pitch this idea”).

• Give yourself a weird creative challenge (e.g., “How would I market this product using only medieval storytelling techniques?”).

• Rewrite a boring idea in the most dramatic, over-the-top way possible—as if it were a soap opera plotline (this one truly works.)

Even if the end result isn’t useful, the act of breaking out of a rigid mindset will get your creative juices flowing again.

4. Go where the actual people are.

If you’re only consuming content made by other professionals in your space, you’re going to end up making content that only appeals to other professionals in your space. Or worse, churning out the same damn stuff.

Try this instead:

• Hang out in places (online or IRL) where your audience actually is.

• Go to the holy land of problems: Reddit threads and TikTok comments. This is where you’ll find the answers, trust.

• Listen to pop culture podcasts—even the trashy ones. They’re great for understanding how to make anything sound engaging.

Creativity isn’t about reinventing the wheel—it’s about listening better.

5. Steal like an artist.

Everything is a remix, baby. And I will die on this hill. Every great idea is built on something that came before it. The trick is stealing from multiple sources and making it your own.

Try this instead:

• Keep a "Swipe File" of cool ads, articles, and ideas that catch your eye (Notion, Pinterest, a messy Google Doc—it doesn’t matter).

• Write down what you like/ find cool about said ads, articles, etc. How can you emulate that?

• The next time you’re stuck, combine two unrelated ideas and see what happens (e.g., “What if a B2B SaaS brand marketed itself like a reality TV show?”).

Great creativity isn’t about coming up with something out of nowhere—it’s about connecting the dots in new ways.

6. Give yourself constraints.

You’d think that having unlimited time and resources would make it easier to be creative. In reality, having too many options always leads to creative paralysis. The best ideas often come from having to work within tight restrictions.

Try this instead:

• Limit your options. What if you could only use one colour? One sentence? One image?

• Force a deadline. Give yourself one hour to come up with an idea. No perfectionism, just speed.

• Use a random constraint. What would your ad campaign look like if it had to be entirely in emojis? Or a single haiku?

Constraints force innovation. Use them to your advantage.

Look, burnout and creative slumps are inevitable, but they’re not permanent.

The trick is breaking out of autopilot mode and finding ways to make your project feel exciting again. The best creative ideas don’t come from forcing inspiration. And they sure as hell aren’t going to hit you like a lightning bolt out of nowhere. They come from messing around until something clicks. So, go mess around.

-Sophie, Writer