Here’s a list of tips for when you’ve hit a creative block, or when you need to work but just simply can’t.

1.

There's nothing a glass of wine can't fix.

2.

Nigerian pop music.1 (Afrobeat/Afropop). It's a wonderful mixture of English, some Nigerian language, fast drumming, and Auto Tune. What’s not to love?

3.

Think about how you would do this project if you were doing it for fun. Instead of constantly reminding yourself about deadlines, classroom requirements, and what other people are going to think about your work, think about what you would do with this project, if you were in charge (since you are).

4.

Work with other people. Don’t give yourself the opportunity to feel sad by isolating yourself. Host a work party. Work at school. Work in a public place. It’s harder to scream at the top of your lungs and rip your hair out when you’re surrounded by a bunch of people.

5.

Eat something. I once anticipated a very long night of work ahead of me so I went to the store and bought myself a bottle of wine, Haribo gummy bears and a box of miniature brownies. Worked like a charm.

6.

Dance interludes. This is scientifically proven to work. I've tried it.

7.

Put your phone away. All you need to feel shitty right now is to check Instagram and see all the cool things everyone else is making.

8.

Figure out what conditions you need to work efficiently and comfortable. For some people, this means sitting at an actual desk, dressed, with shoes on—even at home. Others like to work with the TV on in the background. Maybe you absolutely cannot work at night, or work from your bed (however I’ve known some people who love it). For myself—it doesn’t matter where I am, what I’m wearing, who I’m with or what time of day it is; I cannot work efficiently unless I am warm. I hate being cold.

9.

Look at terrible design. Paula Sher has said that she watches trash TV or reads junk magazines to get herself out of a creative rut. Now tell yourself, You can DO this.2

10.

Become preoccupied with something else. Sometimes it’s better to step away from the computer and come back to it later. Go run around the block as fast as you can. Take a break and work with your hands. Do something completely unrelated to design. Try a self-improvement task like buying something new or cleaning your desk. Take a shower. Cook. Read. Practice productive procrastination.3

11.

Remind yourself why you love your project. Fall in love with your subject all over again. Do whatever it takes to re-ignite the passion and excitement you had for the project when you first started. If you don’t love your project, then see all steps listed here and repeat.

12.

Know when to just not give a shit sometimes. You won’t always have enough time to make your project everything it could be. Sometimes you just need to get it DONE. It’s quite a relief to stop considering everything you’d like to be able to do with your project, and just stick to what you have to do. Here’s to simply fulfilling the class requirements rather than trying to live up to your own sky-high standards. You can always worry about making it amazing, later.