One way to move beyond a creative slump — you may have heard this — is to allow yourself to become extremely bored. Doing so has a way of forming a void that creativity can fill.

The key, however, is protecting that boredom from all the non-creative things that will try to be its remedy. Little bits of entertainment, household routines, and creature comforts seem harmless in these situations, but they’re the very things that will mute the creative voice you’re trying amplify.

Be thoroughly bored. Hold that space and be a ruthless gatekeeper. When you do so, creativity will be your welcome guest.