I'm listening to Bach right now, people.

This is not something I usually do. Nothing against the guy - but he's so 1700s.

However. Here I sit, the sounds of Johann lilting from my laptop - Drake was a hard act to follow, but JSB's doing his best - all because I am stuck, and I read somewhere that this is the best course of action.

I have a creative block.

I can't think of anything. Or rather, everything that I try and think of leads to nothing; a big black hole of nothing.

It happens. A lot, to me, lately it seems, and I think it might have something to do with my working from home, attempting to work for myself.

I'm currently spending time on various projects that require creativity, which I'm ultimately pleased about - but I'm finding, in my start-from-scratch phase, with seemingly endless opportunities and possibilities, that I don't quite know what to do with myself. They say freedom actually inhibits creativity. I suppose that's what's happening to me now. Bloody brilliant.

So I'm listening to Flute Partita in A Minor, hoping something constructive will find its way out of my brain.

I found a bunch of tips for boosting creativity, so here goes. I'm going to try them and all, and see what gets me unstuck.

1. Listen to classical music

Yes, got that one covered, thank you Spotify, and I must say, I feel more focused, and even inspired since switching over from my usual playlist about ten minutes ago. In fact, I wrote everything above this sentence without pause once I hit play on the piccolo. I guess it did something for me.

Did it work: YES!

2. Restrict yourself

Ah, now, to tackle the issue of my freedom. Damn freedom. I feel like I had millions of great ideas when I had no time to execute them, and now, with time that's all my own, I got nuthin'.

Here's a couple of exercises that might rein me in:

Open the dictionary to a random page and pick a random word. Try and incorporate the word with what you're working on.

Picked a sweet random word: questionnaire. And BOOM goes the dynamite, within a couple of minutes, I cracked a concept I'd been trying to figure out for weeks. So simple, but so effective!

Did it work: YES

Limit the time frame you allow yourself to come up with a solution. The pressure might just push you.

Gave myself five minutes to refine the idea, and it forced me to think quick without getting distracted. Turns out that was the perfect strategy for a procrastinator like me.

Did it work: YES

3. Think outside the box/taking the path of most resistance

Alright, figured out another creative problem that needs to be solved, so I'm going to have a go at this strategy - which, in a nutshell, calls for you to go way outside your current field of thinking to come up with an idea that doesn't 'lean' on existing ideas or framework.

Ok, so this one is a little harder to execute. Basically, you're supposed to think really hard, but not about the things you usually think about. Tricky. Despite that, I still came up with a loose new idea, something I probably wouldn't have thought of if I wasn't trying to think differently.

Did it work: KINDA

4. Make music

So, I can't actually play any instruments - unless you include using chopsticks to drop a beat at the dinner table - but I thought my inability would only help as I pushed my brain to do something it doesn't usually do.

Dusted off an old guitar I got when I thought for a moment that I would be a singer/songwriter, and am going to have a fiddle before attempting to refine the idea I had in the previous step.

FIVE MINUTES LATER...

Yeah, so I SUCK at guitar. I looked up some chords, but couldn't figure out which way up they were supposed to go. Now I'm just frustrated. Sexually frustrated. The acoustic guitar is so damn sexy!

Still, the creativity is flowing; I'm almost on fire.

Did it work: I GUESS SO

{the dusty guitar that I made beautiful music on]

5. Exercise your brain with a puzzle

I went to a website made for kids and embarrassed myself, so there's that. Probably shouldn't have left school, but that's another issue.

I definitely got my brain working, so did it help?

Well, it might be the combined effect of all this creativity unblocking, but I just decided on a name of something I've been thinking about for weeks.

Did it work: WELL, ITS EFFECTIVENESS IS A MOOT POINT NOW, HAVING ALREADY COMPLETED SEVERAL TASKS WHICH INCREASED MY CREATIVITY

Alright, that'll do Mozart, that'll do.

I think all that crap seriously helped - I've never tried these tips properly before, but I'm definitely going to use them again. I've come over all productive.

Check me out, I'm going to go do some stuff!