10 Tips To Jumpstart Your Creativity

Trying to find the right mental and physical exercises to get into the creative groove can be difficult. Whether you have your own set of rules to help foster the creative mind or not, these 10 tips have been tried and proven to give you an edge. They’re nto commandments one HAS to live by, but importing them to your everyday life can lend that tiny boost to the creative process.

1. Read everything around you.
Wherever you are, make use of idle time by absorbing any information around you. The magazine stack in a waiting room is filled with articles capable of exposing you to outside perspectives. The newspaper app on your phone is a great time filler while you’re waiting in line or taking the elevator. Listening to talk radio on your headphones while you do anything physically exerting helps you work out more than just the muscles in your limbs. Don’t let idle time slip away uselessly!

2. Carry a notepad.
…or at least a memo app on your phone. Anytime you have a creative idea, write it down. If you don’t want to carry a physical notebook with you, make sure you have an app on your phone to jot down memos. Hopefully by the end of the week you’ll have plenty of insights you picked up day by day. Pick the ones which resonate most and work on them.

3. Make lists!
Lists help get the writing juices flowing. Write the first 5 things that come to mind when you think of an author, an album, a politician’s speech, anything. List the things you want to do before you’re next birthday, or the things you want to get done at work this week. These could all help inspire you to cross them off and simply seeing something completed can be very rewarding.

4. Get out of your comfort zone.
Read about fashion if you’re into sports, technology if you’re into nature. Try to become a more well-rounded person when it comes to society and culture. Become a person with the trait Henry James quoted, “One upon whom nothing is lost”. If you read or hear something that goes over your head, don’t accept the fact that you’re ignorant of it. All the information in the world is at our finger tips, look up anything that you’re exposed to but don’t know much about.

5. Drink a lot of coffee.
Having a ritual before you start working can help put your mind in the right state. Coffee can shake off some of the cobwebs and stand as an “ok, work time” message to your subconscious. Be amped. Make the most of your day. People spend a third of their life sleeping. Make sure the other 2/3s are filled with what will help you sleep at night in the first place.

6. Make your work space comfortable.
Having to stop work to take care of a distraction can ruin the flow of creativity. If its under your control, make sure the temperature where you’re working is to your liking, as well as the lights, your seat, possible outside noise, etc. Set everything right before you plop down to begin thinking and working.

7. Just start writing.
Don’t sit in front of a blank page, that can be intimidating. Even starting off with “what I’ve done today” will get you rolling and possibly spark new ideas in your head. A white screen or sheet of paper can taunt a creative person and put them in a negative groove. Getting the roller ball on your pen moving is key to getting your ideas in a more tangible state..

8. Blend ideas.
Everything has already been written about. Try mashing ideas together for newer, fresher approaches. When you think of an angle for anything, consider how you could tie it in to other unique positions.

9. Leave your work for a few hours.
Do something else, then come back to your work with a new frame of mind. This way you’ll not only spot errors that the mind skips on auto, but you’ll be able to inject new ideas or insights that a short break maybe afford you. Don’t be afraid to edit yourself, and perhaps drop things that are requiring too much work to get right.

10. Read about current events.
Not only are there millions of things out there you don’t know about, but every day a million more are added. Read magazines and newspapers for at least a half hour everyday, or listen to the radio/watch TV related to the days events. Hopefully you’ll relate to whats being talked about and input your own position.

In the end, the best piece of advice creatives dole out is to be constantly thinking, talking, and executing. The best ideas are useless when the stay in your brain. Work it out. Ask for criticism. Strive to make your day as fruitful as possible when it comes to output. Following daily steps will help you stick to a model of creativity that has your ideas pouring out like rain drops from a plush, over-saturated creativity cloud.