A study from Adobe found that 80% of people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth. Yet only 25% believe they are living up to their creative potential. As we get older with more responsibilities, it’s easy to lose our creativity while we’re busy using the left ‘logical’ side of our brain to meet a million deadlines.
However, creativity is what we can all naturally engage in when facing a challenge, be it in the workplace or your personal life. It can also come to us in moments of boredom or relaxation, in the shower or even in the middle of the night. It is common for authors to wake up in the early hours and write down a few ideas for their next novel!
Here are a few simple steps you can add to your daily routine which will stretch the right ‘creative’ side of the brain and unlock your creativity once again:
1. Take it easy…
Walking through the park, soaking in a hot bath, and daydreaming all serve to open your mind and increase problem-solving abilities.
Each day, set aside time to daydream, free of outward distractions. Ideas will flow and you should jot these down for later – they might spark a new project. If you are a fidgeter, feel free to engage in active tasks such as cleaning the kitchen or ironing. The repetitive moves can inspire you too (plus gets the housework done).
2. Create art or get doodling
Not all of us can create work of Picasso’s level, but everyone can be arty. Creating art, whether that’s through painting, drawing or crafting, boosts serotonin levels and makes you feel more positive. The simple act of using your hands helps us relax, reduce stress, and increase concentration skills – all of which serve to expand our imaginations and make us more creative.
If art really isn’t for you, doodling has similar affects as it enables you to subconsciously solve problems. Some of the biggest names in innovation, including Steve Jobs, are known for their doodling to generate innovative ideas.
3. Put the electronics away
Most of us have had some of our best ideas when taking a break from the laptop or our phone. As we mentioned above, being in an idle state is when we generate creative ideas. These days, too many of us see ‘relaxing’ as flicking through Instagram and reading the BBC News app. The endless swiping and digital distraction stimulate us more and prevent our minds from finding calm.
Turn off the phone, put it on do not disturb mode or set time limits on distracting app for a specific time, so your brain has time to switch off and get those creative juices flowing.
These three simple steps can be used daily, to help expand your mind and build up that creativity again.
Tenshi provide training services to help you develop a problem-solving approach to your career and day-today-life. Find out more about our consulting and training here. You can read about Ideact, our industry-leading design thinking course, here.