3 Ways to Inspire Your Creativity

Many of us would like to have more creativity in our lives. How about you?

One of the best ways to get into a creative space is to break out of your normal daily routine. And the best way to do that is to bring more playfulness and spontaneity into your life, especially into your work environment. You will find that some of your most creative flashes will come when you are having fun… if you allow yourself.

Ann McGee-Cooper in Time Management for Unmanageable People wrote, “….. the more we work, the more tired we get, the less creative or open-minded we are, and the less we accomplish, so we get further behind and then we think we have no time for play.” Isn’t that the truth!

When you need to inspire your creativity at work or at home, here are some 3 activities to help you get out of your normal groove and do something different.

Be a Kid Again: Think about some of the things you loved to do as a child. The more fun and wacky, the better! Did you ever build a fort with sofa cushions? Play outside in a hailstorm? Climb a tree? Allow a friend to blindfold you and guide you around? Swing on a rope? Whittle a stick?

What did you love to do? Is there a way you can incorporate any elements of those things into your workday?

And if it makes you laugh, all the better. Don’t underestimate the power of laughter. In fact, Dr. Lee S. Berk, a preventive care specialist at Loma Linda University’s Schools of Allied Health and Medicine, has done numerous studies on laughter. He said that laughter enhances your mood, decreases stress hormones, enhances immune activity, lowers bad cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, and raises good cholesterol. And that’s no laughing matter!

Get Out and Get Inspired: Get out of your office or the physical space you spend the most time in. Take a trip to an art gallery, a park, or even the mall! You never know where inspiration will strike.
When you go out to get inspired, carry a notepad or voice recorder with you. That way, when that next great creative idea or solution to a problem pops up, you will be ready.

Move: When you are feeling stuck, one of the easiest ways to get unstuck is to get up and move. One of my mentors, Gabrielle Roth, said, “Movement is medicine… a dynamic way to free the body, to express the heart, and to clear the mind.”The next time you are feeling out-of-sorts, I invite you to put on your favorite upbeat music and dance around to it. Don’t worry about feeling awkward. As the wonderful choreographer Twyla Tharp said, “Get over yourself!”In fact, you could even try it NOW. Go on, give it a whirl. Find your favorite dancing music and rock out! If you are in a public place (like at work) and it is not appropriate to be seen whirling and twirling, put on a headset for a few minutes, turn up the music, and imagine yourself dancing wildly. It’s almostas good.

When you add these activities to your life you will increase your energy, productivity , creativity , and enthusiasm! And you’ll have more fun.