I never got into Tumblr, but I loved the idea behind it.

Tumbler encouraged you to post anything and everything: quotes, links, conversations with friends, photos, videos, articles, etc.

On the one hand, this led to tons of Tumblrs being the online equivalent of an angsty teenager’s messy bedroom. But on the other hand it also encouraged folks to put stuff out there day after day.

For the most part, I am an advocate for the idea that constraint breeds creativity. But sometimes the constraints need to be removed so you can just get unstuck.

And that’s something Tumblr got absolutely right. Because Tumblr had all sorts of various post types, there was no right or wrong thing to publish. You could share anything you found to be interesting or special or unique or funny or helpful, no matter the format. It all counted. You didn’t even need to have a title.

Contrast that with WordPress where, for a long time, the only post format was written text. Which meant that if you didn’t have something to say via written text, then you didn’t really have anything valid to publish.

And but so, if you find your output slowing down — or dammed up altogether — what can you do to get unstuck?

Remove whatever (false) constraints may be holding you back. Find a new outlet. Maybe just choose to get started again.

Daily creative output is inconvenient — no doubt about it. It’s messy. It’s up and down. That’s just the way it is.

The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.