Living a more creative life can enhance your work, your art, and your overall well-being. It can also foster hope, community, and self-confidence.
Whether you want to pursue writing, learn a new visual art like watercolor, be more creative at work, or be more creative in how you decorate your home or cook your meals, there are plenty of ways to live more creatively, even if you’ve never thought of yourself as a “creative person.” To be creative is to be human.
Being creative can increase happiness, which is beneficial for your overall well-being. It may also delay brain aging. And you don’t have to be the next master painter to experience this boost in well-being.
Here are seven habits to help you tap into your creativity.
Many of us do everything possible in this modern world to avoid being bored. But constantly consuming, streaming, and scrolling leaves little to no space for original thoughts,
Yet, allowing boredom doesn’t need to mean staring at a blank wall for hours. Maybe you daydream while making tea, looking out the window, or sitting in a quiet park.
Practice daydreaming for at least 5 minutes each day. Take a deep breath. There is no pressure in daydream land. Release any expectations; you do not have to come to any conclusions. This is the time to pause, notice, and process.
In this daydream state, your mind’s default mode network is more active and may cooperate with your cognitive control network (your planning and problem-solving brain) — a cooperation that is unique to creative thinking.
See what blooms in your mind when you give it space.
If practice improves your skills, what do you do if you don’t know what to practice? Use prompts. Numerous books and online prompt generators are available for writers, visual artists, vocal artists, and other creatives.
The point of a prompt is to exercise your creative process, not necessarily to produce a creative product.
Set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes, choose a prompt, and know that whatever you accomplish or don’t accomplish within that time is OK.
Feeling stuck can feel defeating. Moving your body can help. Physical movement can also help relieve stress, which can be a creativity-blocker.
Movement increases blood flow and neuroplasticity, which releases endorphins. This can improve mood, shift attention, and allow for new brain connections. A Stanford study shows that creativity levels increase by 60% when walking, regardless of whether it’s indoors or outdoors.
Likewise, changing your environment or routine — like walking a different route than usual — can do wonders for unlocking creativity.
Is it true that left-handed people are more creative?
It’s more of a myth.
Mind mapping is a way to organize and connect thoughts and ideas, which can then be turned into actionable plans. This can be helpful for larger creative projects, like preparing a presentation or writing a book.
This visual note-taking method aids in problem-solving and is useful for creative collaboration. You could even use it for journaling or planning a trip. It starts with a central idea and then expands with branches and connected sub-branches.
Dreamboarding (or vision boarding) is also a useful tool, especially for authors of fiction or visual artists. This involves creating a collage (on paper or digitally) of images and words that represent how you want your creative project to feel.
A dream board is a visual roadmap to help clarify your vision and keep on track toward your creative goals.
Fuel your inspiration by doing things like reading widely, viewing art or architecture (in person, if possible), tasting new food, listening to music outside your usual genre, traveling, or studying the work of those you admire.
Creating a joy list can help point you in the direction of what kind of things you want to create.
Connecting and conversing with people who regularly tap into their creativity can help ignite your spark.
Rest and recharge time is also important for allowing inspiration to flow. It’s much more difficult to think creatively when experiencing burnout.
Ever had “the-most-amazing-idea” when you’re just dozing off or just waking up, only to fall back asleep, and then it feels like a fleeting memory in the morning? Get in the habit of jotting down those thoughts.
Keep a pen and paper by your bed so that when you have that light-bulb idea in your semi-lucidity, you can catch it like a firefly in a jar before falling back to sleep.
A few books to add to your nightstand
- Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
- The Artist’s Way: 30th Anniversary Edition by Julia Cameron
Use the pretty notebook, or the ugly notebook. What matters is that creative ideas flow.
Nothing stops creativity faster than self-doubt. Progress is the goal, not perfection.
A rough idea that can be improved upon is better than a blank notebook, Google Doc, or Notes app.
Along the same lines, embracing failure can also help cultivate a creative mindset. It’s OK if you knit a scarf and don’t like it; it’s OK if you write a paragraph that ends up getting deleted. You’ve gotten more experience for trying, and no doubt learned skills you can put toward your next project.
Remember, each person’s creativity is unique and distinct. The creative process looks different for everyone, from inspiration to execution.
Stay curious, let your mind wander, and carve out time to practice whatever it is that you wish to be more creative in.