Written by Phoebe Velez, Head of Interns, HJ-PR
In a career field as innovative as PR, one has to accept the fact that the best ideas don’t happen overnight – however, that doesn’t take away from the fact that being stuck in a rut between ideas is one of the most frustrating feelings ever. There are plenty of ways you might have ended up here:
- You need to switch gears.
- That “aha!” moment you’re looking for might not be in the research hole you’ve dug yourself into… Try a new approach – the answers you’re looking for often aren’t where you think they are!
- You need to step away for a few minutes.
- You’ve been staring at the same task for so long… no wonder you’re stuck! Go for a walk, grab a snack, call a friend, etc. and then come back with fresh eyes (and hopefully some fresh ideas)!
- You might want to try collaborating with other people on your team.
- No two people are the same, and each person on your team therefore brings a unique perspective to whatever you’re working on. Use this to your advantage – teamwork makes the dream work! Something important to remember is that reaching out to others on your team is by no means a sign of weakness – some tasks simply require putting your strengths together. As I mentioned earlier, the answers you’re looking for are often in unpredictable places – that includes within other people.
- Your brain and/or body is telling you that you need to be a bit easier on yourself.
- If you’re anything like the people I know in this industry, you work pretty much non-stop, and you’re exhausted. Don’t get me wrong – PR is (in my opinion) the best career field ever… but no matter how fun your job is, everyone needs to take a second or two for themselves, and that’s okay!
As for me… when I get stuck, I do a mix of all three. I reach out to my teammates, and try distancing myself from the task in question until I start getting some responses/feedback. And sometimes, when I don’t know what to write about… I write about it – and that’s how this list was made. Sometimes, you can actually be the most productive when you’re stuck in a creative rut.