Today I have the pleasure of introducing Ashley from Modernette. Ashley is totally creative and ridiculously sweet and her blog is filled with thought-provoking ideas and DIY projects that are practical, yet so imaginative. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite blogs to watch! Today she’s sharing some tips both in relation to blogging and creativity — what a treat! Be sure to check out her suggestions below, I think they’re great. 

Also, before I hand over the mic, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who read or commented on yesterday’s post. Your kind and supportive sentiments are real treasures to me. – Melyssa

Hi, Nectar Collective friends! I’m so excited to have the opportunity to meet all of you today.

I’m Ashley, and you can generally find me hanging out over at my blog, Modernette, which is where I talk about my daily adventures, share various DIY projects, and shamelessly post photos of my bully pup, Shasta.

One of my favorite things about blogging is that it allows me to let my creativity run free. Lately, there is no ceiling to what bloggers can do. We build storefronts online, we open design stores and publish e-books, e-courses, and participate in a long list of networking and conferences. And that’s only skimming the surface!

As a blogger, I find that I sometimes overwhelm myself with the amount of opportunities that are in front of me. Where to start? How to brainstorm original, fresh content for each project? Every now and then, that overwhelming feeling takes a toll on my creativity. Do you guys find that the same thing happens to you?

Over the last year or so, I’ve discovered some really neat ways to help keep my creativity going, so I thought that today I would share seven of my favorite tips with you!

1. Just start. Don’t police yourself, but do keep your inner editor in check.
Put your pen to paper – or your fingers to keyboard – and just let your thoughts run!

2. Try something outside of your comfort zone.
You never know what trying something new will bring! Post a photograph of yourself that you wouldn’t normally share with your readers, contact a company that you’ve wanted to work with for a while, or send your favorite blogger a positive note!

3. Keep yourself organized.
Sometimes the most stressful aspect of blogging is time management. From my experience, I know that I am susceptible to stress if I have a mile long to do list with no real plan to conquer it. Keep yourself organized with calendars, to-do lists, or reminders – or whatever works best for you!

4. Sticky notes, everywhere!
This one kind of piggybacks off of number three, but take advantage of the way your mind wanders regardless! You know those random, one off thoughts that pop up on the walk between your apartment and transit stop, or during your daily commute to work? Jot them down! I use Evernote (both the desktop client and the app), as well as a small notebook to keep my creativity accounted for.

5. Use your cellphone to capture the things that inspire you.
This has been my go-to creative booster lately. What is something that, generally, you always have with you? Your smartphone! Put it to work, and use the camera to snap a capture of something that inspires you, or an idea that you want to keep for later.

For example, the three most recent snaps I was inspired to take are: a photo of a DIY fox costume I’m saving for Halloween, a photo of a particularly funny page from Mindy Kaling’s book, and a quote that reads, “We are water. If you love someone, take them to water.”

6. Surround yourself with creativity.
There are so many ways to indulge in the spoils of other peoples creative fits. Listen to a new or old favorite record, appreciate the cinematography in a beautifully shot movie, or print out your favorite inspirational Pin, and post it over your workspace.

7. Don’t work too hard.
I know that it almost sounds counterproductive, but let the flow of your natural creativity tell you when it may be a good idea to take it a little easier. Trying to operate while burnt out is tiring, and it may even impact the overall quality of your work!

Those are my seven favs! How about you guys, what are your favorite ways to inspire creativity when blogging? Leave a comment with your ideas below, I would love to hear more!

Again, thanks so much to Melyssa for hosting me for the day! If you would like to find more of me on social media, please check out my Twitter, Instagram, or Bloglovin’!

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