Finding Inspiration in the Mundane
Loyal readers may have noticed that my posting frequency has declined this month.
I’m okay. In fact, overall, I’m doing pretty great. I’m picking up more work and the warmer weather is steadily dissipating any remaining seasonal depression~ (note from Editing Laura: I drafted this before this week’s sudden temperature drop, and am now furious to be editing in my Oodie with a hot water bottle).
But despite positive & exciting changes in my personal and professional lives, my day-to-day routine has remained fairly monotonous, my personal writing has stagnated, and I’ve fallen into a bit of a creative slump.
I think I’ve been directing so much of my energy outwards lately that I haven’t allowed myself the time to stop and smell the roses (metaphorically, of course — thanks, hayfever). However, I’m determined to pick myself up and not fall further. I love writing, and I don’t want to return to a place where it feels like a chore or where a blank page is intimidating.
So, over the last few days I’ve looked through my notebooks and journals to pinpoint experiences that have sparked inspiration in me previously, and what I found came as a surprise — the inspiration for some of my favourite pieces struck during the most seemingly mundane moments. An idea for a blog post, personal essay or journal entry will come to me randomly when I’m doing something as simple as reading a book or taking a walk around the block.
Since this revelation, I’ve made it a habit to stop and take note whenever inspiration strikes. Sometimes I formed a full-fledged project idea in these moments, and sometimes only a series of jumbled creative thoughts came to the surface. Sometimes the idea was directly related to what I was doing, while others seemed completely unrelated.
Here are a few of my inspiring moments from the last week:
Stream-of-consciousness journaling.
Working from a client’s office for they day, reminiscing on the corporate culture in which I used to spend 5 days a week.
Hearing a new arrangement of an old favourite song.
Noticing the single bluebell that had bloomed in my garden.
Binging multiple episodes of a new podcast discovery.
People-watching while enjoying a solo café lunch.
Debating whether a YouTube Premium subscription would be worth the investment (seriously, those ads are getting out of hand…)
Finishing ‘Wordslut’ by Amanda Montell and thinking about the tidbits of information I remember from my linguistics degree.
Will I ever act upon the ideas that came to me during these moments? That remains to be seen. Maybe one of them sparked my future magnum opus, maybe they’ll never see the light of day. Still, perhaps this list can inspire you to pause during your daily life and pay attention to what comes to you — you might be surprised at your imagination and realise that life isn’t always as monotonous as it may seem.
Here’s to finding more inspiration in life’s mundane moments, and writing in ways that bring joy and clarity ✨