What about not sketching?

I've been thinking about those times when I don't sketch, because I'm in one of those times now. I look at my sketching friends' posts about sketching and how some give themselves assignments that are like explorations into a subject or a material. I think about how some people think making art works - that artists work when inspiration strikes. But the way that you make work consistently over time is to show up whether you feel inspired or not. The exploration of your own work is what moves you to make more work.
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So why am I sitting here waiting for inspiration to strike in regards to sketching? I think there's an unconscious struggle for me between sketching as documentation and sketching as responding to your subject, and the materials that each of those approaches might call for.

What I tell my sketching students is that drawing for the acquisition of knowledge makes any subject interesting, but I don't think interesting is the problem. Is it the materials? Do I have too many to choose from? Should I pare back down to my few favorite pens and pencils? Maybe I should just do a Bic pen for a while. Or do the three-materials challenge. Or take turns with one pen at a time. Why do I rely so much on all of these other materials? Why does the possibility matter more than the doing? 

In this interview that I did with Hamlett Dobbins for his great podcast, Memphis Material, I talked about when I went through a painting slump. This is a thing that I talk about a lot because when it happened, I wasn't worried because I had heard other artists talk about when it happened to them, and if an artist hears me talk about it and worries less, we're all just paying it forward. The solution that I learned from other artists and that worked for me is to try a completely different approach for a little while. So, how does that work with sketching? I guess I'll find out.