Next time you are feeling like you are stuck in a rut, try one of these easy exercises to increase your creativity. Not only can they help you come up with new ideas, but that can lead to making more money.
Whether you are trying to be creative for work, personal passions, or something else, these exercises will help tremendously.
I know for me, sometimes I feel like I am full of creativity that flows so easily. Then other times when I really need the creative juices to flow, I feel like I am dormant and have no ideas.
These exercises will help you regularly flex creative muscles to try and keep you in that creative space so when you need it, you are ready.
Exercises to Increase Creativity
Enjoy this list of creative ways to boost creativity so that you can reduce the risk of developing writer’s block.
Each of these ideas have been developed from asking other people what has helped remove the writer’s block during times of loss in creativity.
Bloggers everywhere provided us with some ideas that work for them so that we could share them with you to help boost creativity.
Why Become More Creative?
Creative people tend to be more successful because they have a wide variety of ideas. Those ideas can be turned into products, blog posts, or videos that will attract a larger audience.
Over time, being more creative will draw a dedicated following. The benefit is that you will be able to make more money from your side hustles or business.
Increasing your creative juices can directly impact traffic to your blog or website. And that leads to more sales, more ad revenue, and more profit.
1. Sketch to Music
Turn on some music and sketch or draw what comes to your mind when you are listening to music. It is okay if you aren’t the best artist, no one has to see what you come up with.
2. New Words
Randomly pick a few words out of the dictionary and create a sentence or two using the new words you learned. It is a great way to grow your vocabulary and really stretch your mind to think about how to use those words.
3. Craft
Find a craft that you think would be fun to do and let your creativity flow. It could be pottery, making a decoration for the home, abstract painting, or anything else you prefer. Just whatever you find fun, do. You can find a ton of craft ideas on Pinterest to help get you moving in the right direction.
4. Write a Poem
Create a poem about how your day or month has been. This might take some time to get started but it is great to help increase your creativity.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can start with a simple haiku, which only has 3 lines. The first line has 5 syllables, second line has 7 syllables, and the final line has 5 syllables.
5. Cloud Watch
Head outdoors and watch clouds as they float by. Try to imagine what animal or shape they are. It will make you feel like a kid again but help stimulate your mind.
6. Cooking
Next time you start working on dinner change up some ingredients and experiment with flavor combinations. Pull out some of the spices you never use or look for different food at the store that you normally wouldn’t buy.
7. Write Questions You Are Working On
Grab a piece of paper and write down a question you have been wondering about at the top. Below write down all the potential possibilities you can think of, no matter how ridiculous they might sound.
Do this for around five minutes each day. It is a great way to really stretch your thinking and stimulate your subconscious.
8. Meditate
Taking time to meditate can help clear and quiet your mind. Try to do this each day for around 15 minutes. You can find YouTube videos or apps in the iTunes or Google Play store to help you learn how to meditate properly.
9. Draw Without Lifting Pencil
Sit down and draw whatever comes to mind, but do it without lifting your pencil. You have to get creative on how to draw what you want without lifting your pen to start a new line.
10. New Route Home
When you head home after a day at work, consider going a new way home. As you are headed home take in the view around you, whether it be buildings, open fields, or a new part of the city. Don’t worry about getting lost, just use your intuition to explore a new route home.
11. Compound Words
Take a compound word that is made up of two words. Separate them and replace one word with a new word to make up a new compound word. Try to list as many combinations as you can. Try to do this for 10 minutes a day.
Example “somewhere” can be separated into “some” and “where.” Using the word some you can create new words like “someplace” and “sometimes”.
12. New Lyrics
Take a song you love and try to add new lyrics to the beat of the music.
13. Map Out
Pick a location whether near or far that you know how to get to really well. Create a map to the location of your choice but you can’t use any words like 5th street, or traditional map symbols.
You want to focus more on the surroundings, like turn left at the yellow house with blue shutters. Think about what landmarks you see, what they might hear or smell along the way. Try to really be descriptive about what the person would experience along the way.
14. Art Work
Search around your home and find objects to create a sculpture or piece of artwork. It really makes you think outside the box on what you need to create your vision in your mind.
15. Crossword Puzzles
Any kind of puzzle helps stimulate your mind to really work at finding words and being creative. Spending time doing puzzles a few times a week or every night is a great way to keep your mind working and fresh.
How do I boost my creativity?
Go for a walk, bake some goodies, write a poem or complete crossword puzzles to boost your creativity. Just do something different that you normally wouldn’t do!
How can I free my creativity?
Get inspired within first. The best way to free creativity is to find something you’re passionate about and partake in an activity or do that passion project to get your creative juices flowing.
