A lot of us get stuck in creative slumps from time to time, but there are proven methods to break free. Here are eight creativity tricks that have proven to be extremely effective.
1. Take Some Breaks
In a study at Radboud University, Nijmegen, PhD student Simone Ritter directed students to come up with ideas to improve the experience of queueing at a supermarket checkout. One group of students asked to brainstorm immediately, and the other was tasked with another activity first. The ideas by the group who played a video game before they started coming up with ideas were deemed the more creative, suggesting that giving people time for their ideas to gestate plays a noticeable role the quality of those ideas
2. Think Like A Kid
It doesn’t take a scientist to tell you that kids are in many ways more creative than adults. If you’re looking for new creativity tricks try tapping into your inner child when brainstorming. That in large part means only limiting yourself to your imagination, not concerning yourself with the plausibility of your ideas so much as the potential in them. Disney Imagineers, who design theme park attractions at Disney parks, are specifically told to not worry about budget when trying to come up with the best ride imaginable. That’s a very childlike (in a good way!) philosophy that you should consider employing in order to get more creative.
3. Give Yourself More Excuses To Laugh
Avner Ziv, an expert on the subject of humor, once divided 282 high school sophomores into four groups and gave them a creative thinking test. Those who listened to a humorous record performed significantly better on the test, demonstrating the power laughter has on creativity. Laughter offers a sense of release that can result in more unique ideas, so consider watching some sitcoms before you have to hunker down and get creative.
4. Exercise
Since it’s common knowledge that exercise boosts creativity, you should of course consider exercise as a precursor to a task that requires a lot of creativity. A lot of writers report that their ideas really click while exercising; best selling author Stephen King swears by the importance of a daily routine of physical activity. Heed the advice of one of the most productive writers ever by ingraining exercise into your everyday life.
5. Get In Your Zone
Having a designated place to get your work done can be a huge boon to your creativity. ScienceDaily posted a great article in 2010 about how designing your own workspace can improve health, happiness and productivity. By carving out a specific spot to be creative you can not only eliminate distraction but also fill the space with things that inspire you. Are you writing a novel? Place a shelf nearby filled with your favorite books that will remind you of the kind of work you’re aspiring to create. Whatever the creative task is, there’s sure to be a memento you can have at your side to help keep you inspired.
6. Get Yourself A Deadline
Deadlines are among the most powerful motivators. The New York Times reports that giving yourself a due date can be just what you need to start creating. If you promise to deliver something to someone on a certain date, you won’t want to let that person down. Even if the deadline is an imagined one, you won’t want to let yourself down. Mark a due date on your calendar so that you risk failure if you don’t become creative, giving you extra pressure to turn on your creativity.
7. Don’t Reject The Bad Ideas Too Quickly
Let them fester a bit so they have the opportunity to grow or transform into good ideas. Most ideas start out as implausible or ineffective, but you should look at them from a number of angles to find the kernel of brilliance nested inside an initially bad idea.
8. Look for Combos
In the book A Technique for Producing Ideas, author and productivity expert James Webb Young describes how an idea is nothing more or less than a new combination of old elements. A lot of us would like to think that creativity is more complicated than that, but ultimately one of the great creativity tricks is to combine old ideas in the right way to make something new.
Featured photo credit: Amanda Hirsch via flickr.com
