27 Creativity-Boosting Tips

I’ve talked about the many benefits of being creative in another article, so it’s time to offer up some tips on how to unlock the creativity that you once had as a child, and which is now probably buried deep beneath layers of practicalities and realism.

Always Be Curious

Einstein is quoted as saying, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

When you are always asking questions (e.g. why is that product designed that way, why do we always do a certain task in this way), we open ourselves up to recognizing problems others may not have seen, as well as then coming up with solutions to those problems.

Appreciate Mistakes

We all make them, assuming we ever do anything at all, and not everything we do works perfectly (if at all) the first time.

While failures are frustrating, they provide an opportunity to learn and come up with improved or alternative solutions.

So try to work out what caused the mistake, because then you can work backwards to try to find a better way of tackling the problem.

Ask For Help

People often think that creative people work in isolation, churning out idea after idea, but, of course, the reality is different (most of the time, at least).

There is nothing wrong in asking a friend or two for help – you can contact them directly via phone or email, meet them for coffee, initiate a group chat, or whatever else technology enables these days.

You can ask them to help you generate ideas, or you can ask them for feedback on an idea you already have.

Be Courageous

Being creative can be a risky business – your ideas may make people uncomfortable and challenge the status quo (because humans typically don’t respond well to change).

But you shouldn’t stifle your creativity because of what you think others may think. They may not like your idea or solution (at first), or you may have completely mis-judged their reaction and be worrying about nothing.

For now, the crucial thing is to come up with your idea or solution – you can concern yourself with making it acceptable to others at a later date, if and when the need arises.

Brainstorming

This is the stereotypical creativity exercise, and when used correctly, it can be a highly productive source of new ideas.

It’s usually performed as a group, but it can be done solo too.

Some of the more important rules to follow include:

1. You need a moderator – i.e. somebody in charge of running the session, otherwise chaos can ensue.
2. No judgement – at this stage, no idea is a bad idea. (Assessment of the ideas’ viability comes later, in a separate step.)
3. Record all ideas.
4. Do not paraphrase what is said – write down the exact words (otherwise nuances or details may be lost).
5. No discussion (other than to clarify what the idea actually is).

Chunking

Sometimes, a problem can be so large it can overwhelm you, so you don’t even start.

The solution is to try to break the problem down into smaller chunks, and then tackle those one by one. (Of course, at some stage, you will need to integrate the various components to ensure they all work together, but that’s for later.)

Create Psychological Distance

This is a sort of bizarre one, but when you are “stuck”, imagine that the problem is distant and unconnected to your current location.

This creates a psychological or perceived distance between you and the issue you cannot yet solve, allowing you to be more creative.

Daily Mini-Projects

This is another example of practising (see below), but the focus of this one is slightly different.

The idea is that you define a very small project (e.g. write one page of text, draw something, create a meme – an image combined with a few words) and allocate limited time to do it – ideally, 15 – 30 minutes at most.

The goal isn’t to produce a masterpiece, or even to do a mini-project that is in any way related to an actual project or problem you’re working on, but to do something creative every day.

This gets you used to the activity of being creative and builds discipline (e.g. working to deadlines).

Daydreaming

With all of the things and people that clamour for our attention these days, sometimes we just need to disconnect and be alone with our thoughts, with nothing to do.

In other words, you are giving yourself permission to be bored for a while.

When you’re bored, you are more likely to come up with new ideas because your brain finds your current environment lacking, so it fills that void by daydreaming, which can trigger new thoughts and solutions to problems that previously defeated you.

There is even research that concluded people who were bored outperformed, in creativity tests, those who were not bored.

Don’t Lose Ideas

Whenever you get a new idea, whether it’s related to your current problem or project or not, make a note of it immediately.

It is so easy to think that you won’t forget it, but I’ve lost way too many good ideas (or so I thought when I had them) to trust them entirely to memory these days.

Whether it’s an actual notebook, a file on your computer, or an app on your phone, make a note, and be as specific as you need to be. There’s no point writing down a word or two and then coming back to it later and not having a clue what the idea was really about.

Of course, this won’t necessarily let you generate new ideas, but an idea lost is no longer an idea.

And another benefit of this is that it reduces distractions – if you have an idea for Project B while working on Project A, you can quickly write down the idea in your book and get back to Project A before you lose your train of thought.

Doodle

This is a great technique to use if you’re stuck listening to your negative inner voice (e.g. if you’re angry or sad or frustrated).

All you need to do is take a sheet of paper and draw something, however crude (e.g. a stick figure) that is a visual representation of how you’re feeling right now.

This simple action can clear your mind of negative energy and get those ideas flowing again.

Drink A Micro-Shot

This one may be a bit controversial, and not always practical (e.g. if you’re in an office meeting), but some people swear by drinking just a teaspoon of liquor.

This appears to be predicated on the association between legendary creators and alcoholism.

Nobody’s suggesting you need to become the town drunk to be creative, but it’s well known that alcohol can reduce your inhibitions and silence your inner critic.

So the idea here is that just a tiny amount of an alcoholic drink will create a similar, creative effect.

I have to say that this is not something I would try these days, having given up alcohol back in 2005, but if you’re up for it (and able to tolerate alcohol), give it a try. If it works, great, and if not, then no problem.

Go For A Walk

I’m sure many people are familiar with the famous statue by Rodin, called The Thinker, but research actually shows that people think better and get more ideas when they are moving about.

I’ve talked many times about the benefits of exercise, relating to both body and mind, and this is just one more you can add to the ever-growing list.

The walk needn’t be a full-day hike, of course – simply the act of standing up from your desk (or wherever you’re sitting) and moving around, either inside your office (e.g. pacing to and fro), in your back yard or garden, around the block, or to the store and back, can be all it takes to spark your creativity.

And in fact, some people swear by simply standing up and turning to face the other way – which is about as short a walk as you could ever find.

Have A Soak In The Tub

I’ve always found that lying in a bath full of hot / warm water is a great way to come up with new ideas. (A shower can work too, but I think a bath is more relaxing).

This could be because you’re not really doing anything, or maybe it’s because of the warm water being so relaxing, but either way, it’s worth a try.

Maintain A Swipe File

A swipe file is a term that is normally used within the world of copywriting, and it refers to a file (physical or virtual) of advertising copy (e.g, headlines, sub-headings, specific phrases) that you think are particularly effective.

You can create a similar sort of file, with ideas and products that you find inspiring.

But rather than just include details of that product, say, also write down what it is about it that you find inspirational (e.g. the placement of various components, the user interface, the way it folds up for travel).

Make Sure Your Environment Is Stimulating

When you create an office or work space that is mentally stimulating and inspirational, it helps you to be more creative.

What works for one person may not work for the next of course, but some things that you may find stimulating could include:

• art (either classical or abstract)
• certain colours (the colour blue has been shown in research to help people think outside of the box)
• music
• photographs of people who inspire you
• puzzles and toys to play with
• unusual ornaments

Meditate

While meditation is more often associated with relaxation and calming, recent studies have shown that a certain type of meditation can increase divergent thinking, which can result in new ideas.

The type of meditation in question is sometimes known as Open Monitoring Meditation, but it’s actually very similar to mindfulness. In essence, the goal is to be still and to observe everything that happens both inside and outside of your body – but in a completely neutral and non-judgemental way.

Observe Carefully

Wherever you go in life, you are surrounded by opportunities for new solutions to age-old problems, such as products that could be redesigned to work better or offer more features, or even products that never existed before.

By observing the world around you more carefully, you will be better able to spot these opportunities. Remember, the first step in creativity is usually noticing that there is a problem to be solved – the appropriate solution comes later

Practise

Like any other skill, because that’s what being creative is, the more you do it, the easier you will find it and the better at it you’ll become.

I know of one person who recommends you write down (at least) ten new ideas every single day – because it gets you used to thinking creatively. And while most of those ideas may never turn out to be practical, it only takes a few of them to be viable to make a huge difference (to yourself and/or others).

I’ve just started using a site called 750 Words, mainly to get me used to writing something every day again, but you could equally well use it to write down your ten ideas for the day.

Promise Yourself A Reward

One study discovered that when they offered children some sort of reward for producing creative drawings, their creativity increased.

You can easily do this for yourself – any type of treat or bonus that you know you’ll enjoy (e.g. a chocolate bar, ten minutes of meditation, a cup of tea) will work as a reward for coming up with a creative solution to a problem.

The trick, however, is not to overdo this, otherwise it can backfire and end up demotivating you.

Reframe The Problem

Once you set off down a certain train of thought, it can be very difficult to try to take a different one, causing you to get stuck in a rut, with all of your ideas clustering around the same basic tenet.

However, if you are able to look at the problem in a different way (e.g. are you trying to solve the right problem, what happens if you break the problem down into smaller chunks), other solutions and ideas may occur to you.

Restrict Your Options

This may seem counterintuitive, but when you allow yourself to come up with a solution using only a few specified items, it can force you to make new connections in your brain and come up with a solution you may not have thought of without those constraints.

Remember that one way you can be creative is to combine items in a way that is new and unique, and that’s what this technique does.

Take A Break

This is a more generalized version of going for a walk, although that tip works because it’s the exercise that is important.

But taking a break from something gives your brain time to digest the information and the components of the problem, to analyze it, to look for other possibilities, so that when you return to the issue, you have a new perspective.

This happens naturally, of course, when we go to sleep, which is often why we wake up and have the answer to something we struggled with the day before.

But the break doesn’t need to be for seven or so hours – it may be as short as going to make yourself a cup of tea, or a half hour answering emails, or even watching the news on television – anything that takes your mind off your creative problem and focuses your attention elsewhere (or on nothing at all).

Tap Into Your Emotions

A study conducted over a decade ago discovered that strong emotions – both positive and negative – were associated with creative thinking.

So, if you’re experiencing positive emotions, which are generally high-energy, try to focus that energy on finding a solution to the problem you’re trying to solve.

And if you’re experiencing negative emotions, don’t sit there and simply sulk or vent – use that energy to stimulate ideas. For example, if you’re angry or frustrated because something didn’t work, or maybe it broke, use that emotion to ask questions such as, “How could that product be designed better?”

Understand Yourself

We are all unique, because nobody else shares the exact same experiences and feelings.

That means creativity may be different for you too, as well as the situations that allow you to be creative.

So, the better you understand yourself (e.g. are you a morning or afternoon or evening or night person, where do you find it easiest to work, what music do you prefer), the more likely it will be that you can create the best environment in which to come up with ideas and solutions to problems.

You Can’t Always Wait For Inspiration To Strike

There is a common perception that ideas naturally stem from moments of inspiration, almost out of the blue and that’s true, to a degree.

But that’s not something you can count on – you can’t just sit there for hours or even days waiting for your muse to strike – creativity is something you can actively work at.

I never thought of myself as being particularly creative (I was working in information technology at the time), but I was fortunate enough to attend an Edward de Bono creative / lateral thinking course.

It was an eye-opener for me, because it showed me that there are techniques you can use to come up with ideas, even if you don’t consider yourself to be creative.

So when you need to generate solutions to problems and new ideas, you can apply these techniques to get your brain going.

An example of such a technique is selecting a word at random, and then using that random word as the focal point for ideas on how to solve your problem. You would do this by drawing associations between that random object and your problem (e.g. can properties of the random object be applied to your problem), or maybe asking could you use that random item to solve your problem, either in part or fully.

Work Somewhere Else

You’ve probably heard the saying, “A change is as good as a rest”, and this applies here too.

If you find yourself devoid of ideas, or stagnating, then go and work somewhere else for a while (e.g. your garden, the local coffee shop, the park).

The simple act of moving to a new location can be enough to stimulate new ideas and get you out of your mental rut.

And Lastly, A Few Things That Stifle Creativity

The above tips are all about helping you be more creative, but there are a few things you should cut back on or eliminate because they can stifle your creativity:

1. Don’t watch so much television. An experiment conducted in 1969 found that people’s dominant brain waves switched from beta to alpha in under one minute of watching TV. In other words, it puts you in a vegetative state where your conscious mind goes on autopilot.
2. Stop skimping on sleep. Most Americans these days have a huge sleep deficit – not only are they often not getting enough sleep, but the sleep they are getting is not the right type (i.e. deep sleep). Deep sleep occurs after about 90 minutes of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (which is when we dream), and is when the brain catalogues and processes the information from the previous day, and when you don’t get enough deep sleep, your imagination and creativity suffers.
3. Try to avoid mind-altering pharmaceutical products. Many prescription drugs are not only designed to affect your brain and mind, but are also capable of reducing your creativity. While I accept that some people truly need some of these meds, for others, there are alternative options that do not have these same side-effects.

Conclusion

Although as I’ve said before, I never considered myself to be creative, and I didn’t really begin trying creative activities (e.g. writing poems and short stories) until I was in my 40s, I discovered that it’s actually great fun.

Not only do you get to create something unique, but there are benefits, as I mentioned at the top of this article.

So, find something you think might be fun for you, and give it a go.

And if it’s work-related (because most jobs are a constant stream of problems that need to be solved), then try to apply some of these tips to get your creative juices flowing.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Creativity Courses
2. How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci
3. Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono
4. The Creativity Challenge