"What's your favorite idea?

"Mine is being creative!"

"How do you get the idea?"

"I just try to think creatively!"

If only it were so easy as that in the real non-ironic and talking-notebook-less world to be creative. A common misconception of creativity is that it's fun and easy. Sure, yes, it can be all vintage-Disney-dancing-daisies when you have a million ideas pinballing in your head, lighting up your happy neurons and scoring 100 after 100 in your idea bank. However, most of the time, creativity is more like a book page in a foreign language, which if you stare at long and hard enough, will eventually make sense...Aaaand, it doesn't. This is the reality of creativity, the dreaded Creative Block. (And that's deserving of proper noun capitalization status.)

Find yourself in creatively clueless conundrum? No way around the wall of white noise in your head? Well, if you can't pummel it down, here are some ways to tunnel through, under, and around The Block:

1. WALK AWAY FROM YOUR WORK

As counter-intuitive as that may sound, stepping away from the screen/notebook/canvas/literal block of stone you've been staring at for hours, if not days, is sometimes the best thing to do: Just walk away. Literally, get up out of your seat/off the floor and just walk, run, get outside––breathe in the fresh air and a fresh new perspective. You'll come back feeling renewed in body and mind.

Pro tip: You're gonna do this, be sure to take a notepad and pen with you. When your idea fountain starts flowing, there is nothing more agonizing than losing them again. Ideas are like Frankendoodle and need to be put down on paper ASAP.

2. PLAY YOUR FAVORITE COVER SONG, EVEN IF THE WORDS ARE WRONG...

"....'Cause even if your grades are bad, it doesn't mean you're failing!"
Or so sings Amanda Palmer. Whether it means pulling up Spotify, loading a CD, vinyl, cassette, or heck, strumming out your own sick beats, music is one of the best ways to get your train of thought running FULL STEAM AHEAD. A study recently found the ideal BPI––beat per idea––for all your endeavors:

Mashable.com released an article on what kind of music is most appropriate to help you tap (or R&B, or pop) into your idea bank. According to Mashable, Metro UK and Spotify did a study and found the ideal studying BPM (beats per minute) is 50 to 80; the studies suggested classical or instrumental without lots of fast tempo changes or words for peak productivity. Sonicscoop.com also put out a study on the human rhythm, what makes us tick (apparently a preference for 120 BPM for all you sound geeks), suggesting something familiar and upbeat for prime creativity, about 180 if you really want to draw out your inner Pollock.

At any rate, whether your thing is Schubert's "Serenade" or Amanda Palmer's"Ukelele Anthem", dance to the beat of your own drum, "quit the bitching on your blog, and stop pretending art is hard."

3. BIRD IS THE WORD

A lot of times, whether in paper writing or professional design, one idea can get lodged so tightly you can't see a way around it. By using word association, you're essentially loosening up the space and freeing the idea, which is not only fun but beneficial (by doing this you're opening new neuron connections––science!).

A more hands-on approach is by scribbling on a piece of paper and seeing what you can make out of the squiggles.
Honestly, you'll either feel like Sherlock or Dali in five minutes.

4. GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD

Taking a cue from the last pointer, sometimes the worst thing to do is to simply sit on an idea. It's not an egg, it won't hatch from hours spent over it and the only thing that will crack will be you. Taking your work seriously is important, but sometimes the best thing you can do is step back and try it again. And again.

Even if you're set in one place, give yourself a brainstorming session, come up with new ideas, no matter how ridiculous they seem; just let them get out. You never know where something might lead you.

5. JUST. DO. IT.

No, really. Shia was right. This is some of the best advice I can give. Often, creativity gets walled up before it even has a chance––

"Oh God, there's so much to do,"

"What if I fail?"

"Maybe I'll start tomorrow..."

No. Stop right there.
The key to a good creative process is like improv, the answer to everything is "yes, and..." and you roll with it, building and not tearing down. Except in this case.
This is a big N-O. Do not start later, start now. If the ideas aren't coming it's because they're just ideas, bouncing around, intangible. However, by actually starting, hands-on, you're forcing yourself to make something. Whether it be the good, the bad, and/or the ugly, it's a start, it's a something.

More often than not, people don't get things right on the first try, but that's all it is, a try––you have to start somewhere, and the key word here is starting. So. Just. Do. It.

6. DON'T THINK ABOUT DONALD

This follows the "out of sight out of mind" rule: Trump wants to build walls, and, I mean he's really good about talking walls. Really great, you know? Probably the best about talking about building walls there is. Creative Block is basically a preventive to the idea gateway, so this totally makes sense.

Dump your Trump thoughts and keep those Creative Blocks at bay.

Pro tip no. 2: As someone who suffers from this on a bi-weekly basis, "No. 6" is a sample from where this started from part of the first idea draft. Was it great? No. Was is especially helpful? No. Was it mildly amusing? Yes. Did it enter my mind? Yes. Did I find it funny? At the time, yes. I was thinking of creative blocks, and associating a block with a brick, and a brick building up, and all those things with a wall. And we all know who really, really loves his walls.

That's raw, that's mind mapping thought vomit, that's stage one of getting around a bout of Creative Block.