It's happened to me plenty of times. I guess it's a more common occurrence in writers, thus the popular term "writer's block."
When I was in graduate school, I'd work on projects in my marketing and finance classes. As we were presented with projects, I would think and struggle and come up with absolutely nothing creative or interesting. That still happens today as I try to create meaningful dynamic content in my work. Sometimes I can think and ponder for hours and continue to hit a brick wall.
I remember asking a friend of mine who was in a Ph.D. program how he overcame mental blocks. He gave me good advice that I use to this day.
His advice was simple. Go do something else for a while. Stop thinking about it. Occupy your mind with another activity, and before you know it, you have a "Eureka! moment" with new ideas to try. Those moments of breakthrough are so gratifying, especially if you come up with a good solution to your problem.
Doing something else is good and well, but what if you don't have an A-Ha moment? What if you have a deadline and nothing remarkable to share? That can be quite stressful, particularly in an economy where if you don't contribute significantly every time, then you could be out the doorstep in no time.
When I'm up against time and a lack of bright ideas, I turn to my mentors. These folks are often part of my personal board of directors too. Over the years, I've managed to assemble a group of friends and mentors in my industry who are wiser and more experienced than I. Not only are they brilliant, but they are also generous with their time. I'll reach out to these mentors as sounding boards about the project, approach, and possible solutions. They have never let me down and help me come up with something valuable to offer to my team.
When you have a mental block think of something else and seek help. You can!

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