Let’s face it — not every day is a creative breakthrough kind of day.
Sometimes, you stare at the blinking cursor for hours, scroll through your notes, switch tabs like a caffeinated squirrel, and still… nothing. The ideas just aren’t flowing. You’re tired. Mentally exhausted. And yet, your blog, social feed, YouTube channel, or newsletter still needs content.
Here’s the thing — you don’t always need a lightning bolt of inspiration to create something valuable. Some of the most engaging content comes from simple, repeatable ideas that don’t require a deep creative well.
In this post, we’re going to walk through a list of easy content ideas you can use when your brain needs a break — without sacrificing quality or engagement.
You’ll thank yourself for bookmarking this.
1. Repurpose What You Already Have
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. Look through your past content — blog posts, tweets, videos, email newsletters — and ask yourself:
- Can I turn this into a carousel post?
- Can I make a short-form video out of this?
- Can I compile 3–5 similar ideas into a roundup?
Example: If you wrote a blog post on “10 Side Hustles for Teens,” turn that into:
- An Instagram carousel
- A 60-second TikTok
- A Pinterest infographic
- A short newsletter
Minimal energy. Maximum reach.
Pro tip:
Use AI writing tools like GravityWrite to help rephrase, summarize, or expand these ideas fast — without sounding robotic. It saves mental energy big time.
2. “What I’ve Learned” Posts
When you’re too tired to be clever, be real.
Write a post about something you’ve learned recently. This could be about:
- A new tool you tried
- A mistake you made
- A small win
- A mindset shift
People love lessons. They’re relatable and useful — two pillars of great content.
Example prompts:
- “3 Things I Learned from Posting Daily for 30 Days”
- “What I Learned After Switching to Notion”
- “The Hard Truth I Learned About Time Management”
These kinds of posts take less brainpower because they’re rooted in your experience, not imagination.
3. Use Templates and Formulas
One of the biggest productivity cheats for content creators? Templates.
Here are a few formats you can plug your ideas into when you’re drained:
- List Post: 5 Things I Wish I Knew About [X]
- Before vs After: What I Did Before Using [Tool] vs. After
- Myths vs Truths: 3 Myths About [Industry] You Still Believe
- This or That: Twitter Thread: “This or That: Productivity Edition”
Using content formulas helps you focus on what to say instead of how to say it. Tools like GravityWrite can also give you customizable templates you can tweak to fit your style.
4. Curate Instead of Create
When you can’t create, curate.
Round up your favorite tools, resources, articles, podcasts, or quotes from others. Give your opinion or explanation and boom — that’s content.
Ideas:
- “5 Free Tools That Helped Me Organize My Week”
- “Top 3 Productivity Podcasts I’ve Been Listening to Lately”
- “Best Threads I Read This Week on X”
This type of content is still valuable — it shows you’re paying attention to your space. It also saves your audience time.
Low energy idea:
Use GravityWrite’s “content summary” tool to scan a long article or YouTube video and create a concise summary. Drop that into your newsletter or blog and add a quick takeaway of your own.
5. Screenshot + Caption Method
If you’re too tired to write a full post, this is a cheat code.
Take a screenshot of:
- A conversation
- A result
- A review
- A dashboard
- A mistake
Then write a short caption giving context or a lesson.
Example:
Screenshot your $12 sale from Etsy and caption:
“This may look small, but it’s my first ever online sale — and I made it while I was asleep. Here’s how I listed my first product (🧵):”
Low effort. High engagement.
6. Answer Questions You’ve Already Answered
Check your DMs, emails, or comment sections. I guarantee you’ll find gold there.
Someone has already asked you:
- “What tool do you use to write your blogs?”
- “How do you stay consistent?”
- “What’s your setup?”
Turn your answer into a post, video, or thread. No need to overthink. You’re just documenting your reply in a polished way.
If you need help fleshing it out, tools like GravityWrite can take your bullet points and help expand them into a solid blog post or caption.
7. Use Your Notes App as a Goldmine
Open your Notes app or voice memos. Scroll. Scroll more.
That half-baked idea from last week? That quote from your friend? That random midnight thought?
Pull something out of the archives and bring it to life. It doesn’t have to be perfect — it just has to be true. You’ll be surprised what resonates.
8. Reaction Posts
You don’t need to create something new — just react to what’s trending.
- A viral post
- A news update
- A new feature from your favorite app
- A mistake a brand made
Example: “Threads just added this new feature — here’s how creators can use it to boost engagement.”
This is low-effort because it’s commentary. Your opinion is the content.
9. One-Liners and Mini Rants
Sometimes all your tired brain can produce is one spicy opinion — and that’s enough.
Examples:
- “Most people don’t have a time management problem. They have a priority problem.”
- “Writing consistently is the only growth hack I know.”
- “AI won’t replace you, but the person using it might.”
Add a sentence or two of explanation if needed, and hit publish.
Short-form content is king right now. This works for X, Threads, LinkedIn, or even the start of a YouTube Short.
10. Let AI Do the First Draft
If your tank is completely empty, hand over the keys for a bit.
Start with a prompt and let AI tools like GravityWrite generate:
- A blog intro
- A video script
- A caption
- An email draft
You don’t need to publish it as-is. Just use it as a base and polish it.
When you’re tired, staring at a blank page is torture. Starting with something makes the process 10x easier.
11. Document What You’re Doing Anyway
You’re already doing stuff every day that could become content.
- Planning your week
- Editing a video
- Testing a new app
- Learning a new skill
Take a photo, write a line or two about it, and post it.
People love behind-the-scenes content. It shows the real, raw version of the journey — which is far more relatable than polished perfection.
12. Use Visuals as the Starting Point
Tired of writing? Start with a visual.
Use Canva, Notion, or screenshots. Drop in some labels. Explain it.
Content ideas:
- “My Morning Routine (in a Flowchart)”
- “Here’s My Simple Weekly Planning Board”
- “3 AI Tools I Use Daily — and What They Do”
You’ll be surprised how visuals can lead the idea instead of words.
And if you need help turning a visual into a full caption or paragraph, GravityWrite’s AI writer has tools for that too. Clean, fast, and helpful.
13. Re-introduce Yourself
If you’re tired and haven’t posted in a while — or even if you post daily — just show up and say:
“Hey, I realized I haven’t introduced myself in a while…”
Follow with a few fun facts, what you’re working on, what excites you, and what people can expect from your content. Boom. Done.
Final Words: Show Up, Even If It’s Simple
You don’t need a masterpiece every time you post.
You just need momentum.
Being too tired to be creative doesn’t mean you’re out of ideas. It just means your energy is low — and that’s okay.
Keep a list of low-energy ideas (like this one), automate where you can, lean on tools that save you time (like GravityWrite), and keep showing up.
Creativity will find you again.
Until then — post the screenshot. Drop the one-liner. Share the lesson.
You’ve got this.
✦ Bonus Tip:
Start your free trial with GravityWrite and build a library of content ideas, outlines, captions, and scripts you can pull from on low-energy days. Think of it as your creative sidekick.