5 Gentle Steps for Creatives in the Messy Middle
There’s the excitement of a new beginning. There’s the satisfaction of a clear ending. And then there’s the part in between- the messy middle.
The messy middle is that vague, in-between season where things feel unclear, unfinished, or not-quite-right yet. You’ve started something - a move, a project, a new routine, a shift in your work - but you’re nowhere near “done,” and you’re not even sure what “done” will look like.
If you’re a creative person, the messy middle can feel especially uncomfortable. Your energy may be patchy, your ideas scattered, your projects half-finished. You might worry that you’ve lost your spark, when in reality, you’re just in a very human, very normal part of the process.
Here are five gentle steps to help you find your footing and keep creating when you’re in the messy middle.
1. Acknowledge that the messy middle is part of the process
First, a simple reminder: there is nothing wrong with you for being here. The messy middle is built into every transition and every creative journey. This is the phase where:
Your original clarity gets fuzzy
The work looks worse before it looks better
Doubts and questions feel louder than your confidence
Naming this as “oh, I’m in the messy middle” can soften the self-judgment. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?”, you can ask “What does this stage need?”
2. Shrink your creative practice (for now)
Big, ambitious projects can feel impossible when life is unsettled. Rather than pushing yourself to create the way you did “before,” give yourself permission to design a smaller, lighter practice that fits this season. Here are a few things that can help:
One small collage scrap or scribble a day
A 5-minute “messy page” with no goal
A tiny notebook that lives on your table or nightstand
Think of it as keeping a gentle pilot light on, rather than running the oven at full heat. Small, repeatable actions help you stay connected to your creative self without demanding more than you have to give.
3. Let yourself make “placeholder” work
In the messy middle, it helps to lower the stakes of what you’re making. Not every page has to be your best work. In fact, a lot of what you create in this season might be bridge work - pieces that help you move from one place to another, even if they’re not meant to be seen. Try thinking of certain pages or pieces as:
Notes to yourself
Experiments
Placeholders
They don’t have to be resolved or polished. They just have to exist. Often, when you look back later, those “meh” pages turn out to be the foundation of something important.
4. Focus on what you can actually influence
When everything feels up in the air, your brain loves to obsess over what you can’t control - timelines, other people, outcomes. That’s a fast track to feeling stuck. A kinder approach is to intentionally narrow your focus to what’s in your sphere of influence right now. For example, you can choose:
When and where you show up to create (even briefly)
What materials feel comforting or accessible
Which projects get your limited energy, and which can wait
This doesn’t magically fix uncertainty, but it gives you a sense of agency: “I can’t control everything, but I can do this one small thing today.”
5. Stay connected - to yourself and to others
The messy middle can feel isolating. You might think you’re the only one who feels behind, confused, or stuck. But almost every creative person hits this phase, over and over again. Two simple supports:
With yourself: check in kindly. Ask, “What do I need today—rest, play, or a tiny bit of structure?” and let your answer be enough.
With others: share honestly with a trusted friend, community, or fellow creative. You don’t have to offer a success story - just a “this is where I am right now.” Feeling seen can make the middle less heavy.
A final word if you’re in the middle…
If things feel unclear, in-between, or unfinished, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re in motion. You’re allowed to:
Take smaller steps
Make imperfect, in-progress work
Not have the ending figured out yet