When you hear the word “creativity” you might be thinking of a genius artist creating their masterpiece. But the truth is, everyone can be creative (more every day) if they set their minds to it. All you need is some positive thinking and this full list of tips to be creative.
1. Shake Things up by Changing Your Routine Every Day
Creativity comes from the most unexpected places, and the only way to place yourself in unexpected situations is by shaking things up when it comes to your routine. Wake up at a different time, go jogging around the neighborhood before breakfast instead of after, take a different route to work a couple of times a week. Changing your routine will awaken your brain and make it think differently.
2. Don’t Settle with the First Result You Get
One of the most important rules of creativity is to stay away from conformity and stick to the rules. Just because there’s a popular way of doing things doesn’t mean it’s the only one. Similar to this, when you finish a work and feel it seems only okay, don’t accept that but keep working on it, making tweaks here and there until you’re in love with the result and you think you can’t possibly add more to it.
3. Document Your Work Every Step of the Way
When you’re working on an important project or assignment, you might have a lot of trial and error. Be sure to document every step in case you need to go back and use previous ideas. Keeping track of what you’ve done in the past will also help you in the future to recreate something without having to start from scratch.
4. Don’t Stop Networking with Other Artists to Get Inspired
Even though everyone wants to be special, unique and someone people look up to, the view from the top can be quite boring if you’re standing there alone. The best way to keep the creativity flowing through your brain is to never stop connecting with other artists or even people with different origins. A rich ecosystem is a basis for new, never-ending ideas.
5. Being Resourceful can Get You Better Results Than Having Everything at Hand
The great thing about creative people is that they don’t wait around to have all of their tools in order to start creating. In fact, lacking all of your resources can even make you a more creative person. In the process of learning to work with “what you have” you might stumble upon new ways of doing things, or unexpected uses for everyday objects.
Related: Increase Innovation & Creativity by Playing Escape Room Games
6. Have a Positive Mindset
A phrase every creative person should repeat to himself or herself as if it were a mantra is “say YES more than NO”. When you open yourself to new possibilities and have an optimistic outlook on every opportunity, you might come across people, moments, or things that will help you get a new outcome from what you’re trying to create.
7. Don’t Retrace Your Steps or Think of Your Past Work
You should always be proud of your past work, especially if it was great and appreciated by others, but in no way this means you should linger on it or, even worse, try to recreate it. Remember to keep moving forward and keep thinking outside the box.
8. Have a Deadline to Put Some Pressure on You
Most artists and creative people hate to have deadlines, but they can actually be very beneficial for you. By adding some sort of pressure on yourself, you force your mind to focus and gather your thoughts in order to get something genius.
9. Get Playful, Don’t Take Everything so Seriously
Sometimes people can get stressed out trying to be creative, which creates a mental block and worsens things. To let the creativity flow, don’t take things too seriously and play around with your ideas, your project, your tasks, or anything you want to accomplish. When fooling around, you let your mind wander and you might come up with a great idea sooner.
10. Brainstorm All Day
Try to brainstorm as much as you can and all day long. Keep a notepad with you to list down ideas, write down things you see on the street, associate objects or thoughts with each other, and even wake up in the middle of the night to write down your dreams. You never know which one of these little notes will be your next masterpiece!
Related: Mind-Boggling Brain Games to Improve Your Concentration Level
11. Combine Different Ideas or Techniques
Fusing, or combining ideas, is a very popular way of exercising your creativity and loosening up your brain. You can start with small exercises such as picking 3 words that aren’t related to each other and make up a little story that involves them all. Think of objects that have nothing in common and try to find in which ways are they alike. Similar to this, you’ll be creative and more skilled at mixing techniques when working.
12. Be Curious about All Things That Surround you
Curious people are always on the verge of their next great find. Keep your mind as curious as a child’s and never stop investigating, asking questions, and wondering “what would happen if”… Curious people are also more likely to face unusually fortunate situations which lead them to have creative breakthroughs.
13. Listen to Podcasts and Watch TED Talks to Get Inspired
When you’re not in the mood or you can’t do something radical to wake up your creative side, you can rely on a good podcast, or even a TED Talk, to get just the right dose of inspiration. These events usually shift the way you see things and get you excited to carry on with your work.
14. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Bored
Most artists say that true inspiration hits when they get the opportunity to get bored and do nothing. Don’t try to fill your time doing things or trying too hard, lay back for a while and new ideas will start to flow.
15. Keep Trying New Things
Learning something new and having the perspective of a beginner is the perfect opportunity to exercise your creativity. Since you’re fresh and new at something, you’ll be creative and more attentive to the way you do things, and how the new experience could be of use in other aspects of your life.
Related: 8 Habits That Make Smart People
Creative people definitely don’t have their way paved easily. Creativity is something that needs to be constantly explored, re-questioned, and exercised in order to have the ability to keep showcasing your ideas in new and exciting ways. With this list, you’ll be more than ready to explore your creative side and develop it more and more.
