62: 10 Things I Do to Get My Spark Back When I’m in a Content Rut

In a content rut right now? Let's be real—you're in very good company. In this episode of The Creative Bodega, I'm sharing the 10 things I actually do when content feels heavy, my ideas feel stale, or my posts aren't hitting the way I want them to. This isn't about forcing yourself to be inspired or white-knuckling your way through it. It's about coming back to what helps you feel like YOU again—with boundaries, systems, and a whole lot less pressure. If you've been in your head about your content lately, this one's gonna feel like a big exhale.

*Check out the full show notes for this episode HERE.

Things I cover inside this episode:

• Why taking time off is actually the fastest way to get your spark back (and how to do it without losing momentum)
• The boundaries I've set that protect my creativity and sanity as a content creator—including why I never post on Sundays
• How leaning on a weekly content rhythm gives me more freedom, not less (and why 50-70% of my posts are recycled)
• Why I schedule posts at 6:30 AM and don't check them for two hours—and how this one habit protects my mental health
• How to detach from vanity metrics and treat your content like data instead of a verdict on your worth

Resources & Links mentioned in the episode:

• My Instagram Analytics Tracker - A $19 tool that helps you get out of the drama and look at the data so you can see what's actually working
• The Content Coven - My membership where you get access to this tracker plus tons of other resources, strategies, and support to make content feel lighter

Connect with me:
🫶🏼 Follow me on Instagram for daily insights
🫶🏼 Join my 321 Create Newsletter for weekly content tips 
🫶🏼 Check out The Content Coven Membership

Be sure to hit "Subscribe" or "Follow" so you never miss an episode! 

Transcript

Speaker 0:00

When you're in a content rut. The answer is typically not to push harder, my friend. It's usually to make your content feel safer, lighter, more simple, and more supportive again. Welcome back to the Creative Bodega Podcast. Today I am sharing 10 things I do to get my spark back when I'm in a content rut. And let me just say this right outta the gate, if you are in a rut right now. Hi, welcome. You're in very good company. This happens to everyone. It happens to new business owners. It happens to the very seasoned, experienced business owners. It happens to people who are really good at making content, and it happens to people who literally teach content for a living. Hi, it's me. But when business feels heavy, when your ideas feel stale and fleeting, when maybe your energy is low or when you're in your head, or maybe when the last few posts you made didn't hit the way you wanted them to. You can start to slowly slip into a content rut. It just happens and it happens to everyone. And if somebody says it doesn't happen to them, God bless. I don't, I don't know. I don't know. And sometimes I think that people make it mean something more dramatic, right? Like that's it. Like I've lost it. I'm not creative anymore. Instagram hates me. I needed like an entire new strategy. What I'm doing doesn't work anymore. I need to burn everything down and become. I don't know, a, a travel influencer, but probably not honestly. Probably you're, you're tired or you need space, or your systems need a little support, or you do need to revamp maybe one or two things and test it out. Right. I always like to remind myself that everything is data. Everything is data. It's all one huge experiment. You guys like, that's, that's what this is. But if content's been feeling kind of blah to you lately, I am hoping this episode feels like a big exhale. You feel a lot less alone. And I wanna share what I do when I'm in a content rut because, I mean, I've been posting every week for five years. I, I, the most I've ever taken off is two weeks, which is nuts to say out loud, and it makes me really realize I need to take more time off. but when I'm in a content rut, I don't force my way out of it by putting even more pressure on myself. Not even close. I do not sit there. And like white knuckle my way through it, trying to be inspired. I don't tell myself I need more discipline. Um. I just don't, it's just not me. I, I'm actually, you know, I try to be quite kind to myself. What I do is come back to a few things that help me feel like me again, help me feel excited to post again, some are practical, some are more mindset, some are boundaries, which are big and some are just little rules I've made for myself over time. Because I find that they really do protect my creativity and my sanity as a content creator trying to make a living online, right? So I'm gonna walk you through the 10 things I do to get my spark back when I'm in a content rut. And my hope is that at least one or two of these feel good to you. And you can take them and you can try them yourself. Take what feels good, leave behind what doesn't. All right, let's get into it. Number one. I take time off and give myself room to breathe. This one's huge When I feel disconnected from my content, that's usually a sign that I need to take a break, not a forever break, not a six month disappearance. if you need that, do it. Like that's, I'm not gonna tell you not to. I've never done it for me. I just need a little breathing room. I need some room to think I need some room to feel creative again without the immediate. Pressure to produce and create something. and because creativity and pressure, they don't always play nice, right? Sometimes the fastest way to get my spark back is to stop gripping so tightly. And I know that can feel scary because a lot of us think, well, if I stop, I'm gonna lose momentum. I'm gonna lose followers, whatever. Maybe a little bit. But if you keep forcing yourself to create from a place of. Dread. That's not exactly momentum either. You know what I mean? That's survival mode. So I take a breath, I go live my life, I take the vacation, I take two weeks off. I let my brain relax, and I stop demanding content for myself every day. Right? and usually that space helps more than any other content hack I could ever share with you. Number two, I have never and will never post on Sundays. Sundays is my family day. I am fully off the app. We are usually at 10 million different sports events or I'm just doing life. I'm cleaning, I'm doing laundry. We're outside now that spring is finally coming, but Sunday's family day. I don't post, I don't check. and it's just freeing. I just know, I know that Sunday is not a day for Instagram, and that boundary has helped me so much. It reminds me that my business works for my life, not the other way around. And I think one of the quickest ways to lose your spark is to act like you need to be available. For your people, and making content every single day of your life. It's just not sustainable. It is not healthy. And for most of us, it's not necessary. I find that a lot of my ideal client, they are not on, on the weekends either. They're not looking to learn, they're not looking to invest, they're not looking to do anything on Sunday. and I want freedom in my business. And I want family time, and I want boundaries like that. I wanna be present. And so this boundary is not just about taking a break from Instagram, it's just about reinforcing the kind of business that I actually want to build, and that's one that supports my life. So never ever will you find me posting on a Sunday and I'm gonna get to what I do on Saturday because it really doesn't require me or my attention at all either. Number three, I lean on weekly rhythm instead of reinventing the wheel. So this has been one of the best things for my creativity because structure actually gives me a lot more freedom, not less. And I've worked with people who feel the opposite when I try to explain to people what my weak rhythm is, what my Instagram strategy entails. Some women have told me you know, I feel a little suffocated. My creativity feels. Stifled. I need to just be able to wake up and post whatever I want, and I'm like, you do you. That is not me. Okay. I know what my week looks like. I hit the ground harder Monday through Thursday when it comes to Instagram. Friday I start to pull back.'cause I found my audience is just not really trying to get super deep or strategic at the end of the week. They're just, they're really not available. They're mentally checked out. I'm mentally checked out and we're all kind of like limping towards the weekend together. Right. So Friday content for me is lighter. it's a connection post, right? Something about me or my family or, it's something lighthearted, right? Vote on these fonts or check out this color palette I came up with. It's light. It's easy, it's inspirational or connecting. And Saturday. Which I just mentioned earlier, I already know what Saturday is. Saturday is always a freebie promotion post to grow my email list. It's scheduled in the later.com. ManyChat does her thing. I am not over here doing anything. Okay? That is a system, and the system helps save my spark. Because when every post requires you to start from nothing, of course your content's gonna feel exhausting. Of course you're gonna be in a rut. You're doing too much. And I think there's a whole strategy behind repurposing and recycling. And I am so for it, I do it like it's no one's business. I always say like, I'd say 50 to 70% of my posts throughout the week are recycled. They are not brand new. One or two posts are brand new. Maybe three Maxs. The rest are ones I've already done. Okay. So you don't need a million tiny decisions, that is going to eat up your creative energy. You probably just need like a gentler, more clear content rhythm and you need to figure out what that looks like for you. Number four. I protect my mornings by not checking my post right away. So I actually schedule every post to go out at six 30 Eastern standard time in the morning while I am still asleep. God bless automations. Honestly, I'm either scheduling it through later.com or I'm scheduling it natively within Instagram. My kids don't get on the bus till eight 30. I do not check that post until they've gone off to school. So that is a two hour buffer. That is so good for my mental health because if I wake up and immediately start checking how something's performing and it's not what I hoped it would be, it. Absolutely affects the tone of my day, and you might relate to that. Like you post something, you felt really good about it today. I'm not even kidding. Today I was like, this is going to be so good. Everyone's gonna love it. 8 35 when my kids were off into the bus and it was time to check Instagram. Wasn't even anywhere near what I thought it would be. Do I take it down? Absolutely not. You know, am I gonna like sit down and pivot my entire business by 9:00 AM No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't do that. I don't spiral. I just let it be honestly, and, and I, and I continue to wait because sometimes it takes time for things to pop off, right? Or maybe it never does. And, and, and then it's just data. It's just data for me to say, Hmm, wonder why that didn't work. What could I try differently? What's the different headline? Maybe that was a real, and it should have been a carousel, or maybe vice versa. Right. I'm just over here collecting data and figuring out how to move forward. Number five, I remind myself why I started posting in the first place. Okay, so this one matters so much when my motivation is low.'cause when I'm in a rut, it's really easy to start posting out of obligation or out from pressure or from just I should or from fear, right? And that energy feels terrible, and I'm telling you, your audience picks up on it. So I try to come back to why I post in the first place. I post'cause I care so much about helping the people in my world. I post'cause I legit love talking about content creation. I post because content, when it feels good, is such a creative outlet for me and really lights me up. I post because I know there is some woman out there scrolling, overwhelmed, second guessing herself in every decision wondering. What to say. Wondering what if she's doing something wrong and knowing that I can help this feel lighter for her and that matters to me. And sometimes that reminder is enough to shift me out of, Ugh, I have to make a pose today, kind of energy and write back into, all right, like I get to talk about something that lights me up and I get to help someone today. Let's. Effing go, you know? And when the deeper reason is there, that spark usually comes to life. It's not just buried under pressure. Number six, I detach myself from the vanity metrics. This is a work in progress. Every single day. I am working on it constantly.'cause I am so human. I have eyeballs, I have a heart, I have a head. I notice numbers. I still have moments where I feel like. Really like, really, em. You have 124,000 followers and you got like 30 likes. Like stop, you know? But I work so hard not to let likes and comments or outward engagement decide how I feel about myself or my business or my content. Because so much happens behind the scenes that people can't see, right? People are consuming quietly. That is the world we live in right now. They're binging my content and not engaging with it at all. They're sending it to a friend. They're clicking, they are joining my email list. They're thinking about working with me. They're starting to follow me, right? They're watching for months before they even say a word. I think that if, we let ourselves feel good when something looks impressive on the outside, and that's the only time we let ourselves feel good, we're gonna miss out on so much of what content's actually doing for us. Okay. So I have even thought about hiding my likes from you. I, and I still go back and forth on that sometimes, but I also think there's something really powerful about letting people, you all, everyone see that creators of all sizes can still struggle with vanity metrics and continue to show up anyways. Okay, so I'm not a hypocrite, I'm not gonna hide it. I'm gonna keep showing up. Number seven, I treat content like data. Okay. This one helps me a lot. If something underperforms, I try not to make it mean something really deep. Right? Or existential about me as a creator, as a human being, as a business owner. It's data. That's it. Could the hook have been stronger? Probably. Could the timing have been off? Maybe could this have worked better as a reel instead of carousel? Hmm, probably, you know, and that's something I can try next time. It's information, it's usable. It's not personal. It doesn't mean my followers hate me. It doesn't mean the algorithm hates me. Right? And I really want you to hear me on this because I know so many perfectionists, including myself, struggle here. A post underperforming does not mean you're bad at content. It means one post did what? One post did on one day in one format with one setup. That's all. And the second you start making every post a verdict on your talent or your worth, your content's gonna get a lot lighter, I promise you. And when it gets lighter, you're gonna get some of your spark back. Number eight, I do not let one post consume me. Okay, this comes down to perfectionism again. Hi. It's me. I know I'm the problem. Okay? I'm a perfectionist by nature, so left to my own devices. I will tweak a headline or a design For 700 years. I could move words around forever. I could continue editing second guessing. it's crazy. but at a certain point I gotta let it go. I gotta post it, I gotta learn from it, and I gotta move on. And that has been such a big part of protecting my energy because one post cannot be allowed to eat up my whole day or my whole mood or my whole creative identity. Like that's actually insane and it will burn you out so fast. So if that's you, this is your permission slip to loosen your grip. Done. Is wonderful. Posted is so beautiful. Data is better than overthinking. Every day of the week. Number nine, I let AI help me with words so much. Right. And this has been, this has been so life giving to me because I'll tell you, I can be in Canva all day playing and having fun and designing it is my jam. Words have always been hard for me, and I do still rely heavily on ai. Chat, GBT for support with words, headlines, captions, carousel formatting, carousel copy, brainstorming, refining my ideas, all of it. And it helps me stay sane and it helps me from burning out. So, yeah, I, I've worked really hard to train chat, GBT, whether it's a project or a GPT of mine. I give it strong examples. I have gone back and forth 500 times with it and taught it. What I like, what I don't, phrases I would never use, tones that sound like me, structures that I love. I use it for support, not for a replacement for my brain, right? This is not like I ask it one simple question. It gives me the spit out answer, and I use it. We are going back and forth until it gets it right. That does not make me less creative. It makes me resourceful in my opinion. And number 10. Last but not least, I try to make content fun. Okay? And I say this, I think it's the last thing I say in my podcast, outro. Like, remember, try to have a little fun with your content. Right. This might be the biggest one of all. When I'm in a rut, I have to remember that this is supposed to be somewhat fun. This is the creative part of my business. There's supposed to be some life to it, right? It's not life or death. I am not saving lives. I'm doing the best I can to help people to teach, to connect, to market my business in a way that feels really good and enjoyable. But if I start treating it like every post carries like the emotional weight of the world and like it's gonna suck all the joy out of it. And then I sit there and wonder why I don't wanna create like, hello. Right? So not trying to be more impressive. Usually from just being more honest and more simple and more playful, content becomes lighter for me and more me, right? And by the way, I think showing your face really matters a lot Here too. Like when I feel disconnected from my content, a face to camera reel can help a lot because it brings me back into the room and it brings my personality back and it reminds my audience that I'm human. And I think that's really important. So if content's feeling a little flat, let go of the graphics. Get outta Canva. Make it more personal, make it direct, make it a face to camera reel. and just make it feel more alive and more like you. So those are my 10 things. If I had to sum up this whole episode, it would honestly be this. When you're in a content rut. The answer is typically not to push harder, my friend. It's usually to make your content feel safer, lighter, more simple, and more supportive again. Okay. I think that a lot of us try to bully ourselves. Back into getting motivated. And that approach just makes me feel worse. I don't know about you. So, if one of the most helpful parts of that reset is looking at your content with a little more neutrality and less emotion, think that's really gonna be the key to success. And it, it brings me to something that I would. Think would genuinely help. If this is where you are right now. Um, if you are spiraling over your post performance and you want a really simple way to look at what's working, I would snag my Instagram analytic tracker. It is$19. It is such an amazing little resource, and it helps you get out of the drama and really look at the data. Which, you know, I love, I love, and if you're already in the content coven, you already have it in there along with so many more of my resources and strategies and thoughts. And, listen, if you want more support and structure and a place where your content feels lighter, I think the content coven would be an incredible next step. All right, I hope this is helpful. and I'd actually love to know what is one thing you're gonna do to get your spark back? If you're in a content rut, DM me. Let's talk about it. Okay, I'm here for you. I will see you on the next episode of the Creative Bodega Podcast.