boost creativity

5 Exercises To Get The Creative Juices Flowing

Most people think that it is impossible to make yourself into a more creative person. After all, the creative geniuses we know about all seemed to show great promise from a young age. Plus, we all have those friends who are just ‘naturally’ good at drawing, or music, or coding.

But the idea that creativity is something we’re born with is just plain wrong. Sure, some people find it easier than others to make new connections between concepts or to visualize a finished painting. However, that is almost always the result of hard work and deliberate practice, not an accident of birth.

Now, if you’re an advertising executive, you probably aren’t interested in trying to become the next Beethoven. But you are definitely interested in finding ways to foster more fluid, creative thinking, both in yourself and in your team.

Luckily for you, there are lots ways to encourage more creative thinking. They’re easy, simple to action, and usually free! All you have to do is give them a try! Here are my top exercises for boosting creativity today.

 

Top 5 Exercises To Boost Creativity

 

Go For A Walk

This is such a classic creativity booster it’s almost a cliche. But the truth is that it works. For starters, the simple act of going out for a walk significantly reduces anxiety in the short term. Most people find that their ability to think is constantly clouded by their ever-growing to-do list, email bombardment, or constant phone ringing. A quick walk gets rid of these sources of stress and allows you to focus on the task at hand.

But walking has a much more powerful effect on creativity. A study conducted by Stanford psychologists found that walking directly contributed to more creative thinking. What is interesting is that it was the act of walking itself – not the being outside – which seemed to provide the added inspiration. Participants who were either currently walking or who had just been walking were much better at creating new analogies than those who had been sitting in the same environment! That said, a walk outside seemed to produce the biggest improvement of all tested groups.

Keep Your Hands Busy

There is a reason why so many successful people keep toys and puzzles on their desks. When you’re grappling with a difficult problem and you’ve hit a cognitive wall, then doing something with your hands is often a good idea.

The most obvious reason why this works is the distraction. It’s really hard to pull yourself away from a difficult problem, but when you do, you don’t want to throw yourself into something just as mentally taxing. You need something relatively mind-numbing and simple to let your brain recuperate.

There is, however, a more powerful reason why keeping your hands busy helps with creativity. The idea of embodied cognition is gaining traction in psychology (although it is far from a new idea). The basic idea is that we do not just think with our minds; we also think with our hands. Our cognitive processes are wrapped up in our bodily movements, and vice versa. Doing something intricate with your hands – a Rubik’s Cube, squeezing a ball, fiddling with dice – excites various parts of your brain and might actively change the way you are thinking.

Listen To Music

Of all the methods for getting the creative juices flowing, listening to music is probably the most effective. Music has been used as an inspirational tool by artists for as long as we have had art. It isn’t just a kind of old wive’s tale or trope, however; listening to music really does open up different pathways and allows for more fluid, creative thinking.

music and creativity

As this article explains, musical training can have a profound effect on the physical architecture of the brain. More specifically, young people who underwent musical training had stronger connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain than people who didn’t. We’ve long known that creativity is born when diffuse concepts are related in new ways. Having better connections between the analytical and creative sides of the brain can only make you a more creative person.

Throw A Ball Around

Seriously. This one works like a charm. There’s a reason why corporate retreats always have people toss a ball around during ice-breakers.

Throwing a ball around creates a feeling of camaraderie, makes people feel more interconnected, and takes your mind off everything else – including the coding problem you’ve been stuck on for the last 3 hours. Having a simple and relatively mind-numbing break from a problem often lets you come back to attack it from a completely different angle. Taking that break with other people will heighten your mood, as well as creating the kind of environment where collaboration can really take off. At the very least, it keeps your hands busy, which we’ve already said is a fantastic way to foster creative thought.

Write A Haiku

A lot of you will be extremely averse to this one, but hear me out! Writing about your day in a difficult, abstract way can really put you in a more creative mindset. Of all the ways to try poetry, it’s my opinion that Haiku is the most accessible. Try writing a basic Haiku about something easy – your day, your job, your dinner last night. The subject matter is irrelevant. What’s important is that you think about these mundane things in a new, abstract way.

A simple Haiku might just be the spark you need to solve the problem you’ve been working on for days!

 


GET THE BOOK BY
ERIN FALCONER!

Erin shows overscheduled, overwhelmed women how to do less so that they can achieve more. Traditional productivity books—written by men—barely touch the tangle of cultural pressures that women feel when facing down a to-do list. How to Get Sh*t Done will teach you how to zero in on the three areas of your life where you want to excel, and then it will show you how to off-load, outsource, or just stop giving a damn about the rest.

62 Responses to 5 Exercises To Get The Creative Juices Flowing

  1. I like this article, it is very meaningful and detailed, I hope you will have many good articles like this to share.

  2. Thanks for sharing this great “5 Exercises To Get The Creative Juices Flowing” informative post, I am glad to see this kind of brilliant post.
    http://www.sexescortsdubai.com/

  3. naija news says:

    Muchos Gracias for your post. Really thank you! Really Cool.

  4. Stephenpep says:

    online viagra prescription generic viagra buy generic viagra online

  5. Jamesgreat says:

    30 day cialis trial offer cialis online generic cialis no doctor’s prescription

  6. Travisshoob says:

    viagra online canadian pharmacy cheap viagra viagra generic

  7. Eddievor says:

    errection problem cure ed symptoms prescription drugs

  8. Jamesspura says:

    viagra coupons buy viagra from canada where to buy viagra

  9. Jamesspura says:

    viagra prices generic viagra online viagra for sale

  10. Jamesspura says:

    can you buy viagra over the counter cheap ed pills viagra online usa

  11. Jamesspura says:

    viagra 100mg price canadian pharmacy viagra viagra price comparison

  12. Jamesspura says:

    generic viagra online cheap viagra where to get viagra

  13. Ernestjiz says:

    erectal disfunction ed treatment 100mg viagra without a doctor prescription

  14. Ernestjiz says:

    best ed supplements best drug for ed amoxicillin without a doctor’s prescription

  15. Ernestjiz says:

    legal to buy prescription drugs without prescription male erection pills buy erection pills

  16. Ernestjiz says:

    online prescription for ed meds generic cialis erectile dysfunction

  17. Dannymug says:

    canada price on cialis generic cialis expired cialis 3 years

  18. Dannymug says:

    cialis or viagra cheap cialis coffee with cialis

  19. BruceBep says:

    treatment with drugs ed medications online medication online
    new ed treatments

  20. BruceBep says:

    ed tablets online prescription for ed meds medicine for ed
    ed prescription drugs

  21. BruceBep says:

    online drugstore buy prescription drugs without doctor erection problems
    how to overcome ed naturally

  22. MichealRot says:

    https://valtrexgeneric500.com/ generic valtrex canada

  23. MichealRot says:

    https://zithromaxgeneric500.com/ zithromax online no prescription

  24. WilliamMedlY says:

    drugs from india drugs from india

  25. WilliamMedlY says:

    buy tadalafil buy tadalafil

  26. WilliamMedlY says:

    payday loans payday loans no credit check instant approval

  27. WilliamMedlY says:

    personal loans for bad credit speedy cash payday loans online

  28. StephenNup says:

    viagra generic buy cheap viagra viagra doses 200 mg

  29. RobinSeike says:

    dog antibiotics without vet prescription buy Nolvadex legal to buy prescription drugs without prescription

  30. RobinSeike says:

    real viagra without a doctor prescription usa Cipro canadian drugs online

  31. RobinSeike says:

    ed pills otc buy Nolvadex herbal ed

  32. RobinSeike says:

    overcoming ed Zithromax online diabetes and ed

  33. RobinSeike says:

    real viagra without a doctor prescription generic Amoxil male ed

  34. RobinSeike says:

    average price cialis cialis generic is cialis generic available

  35. RobinSeike says:

    prescription drugs online without doctor generic drugs carprofen without vet prescription

  36. RobinSeike says:

    п»їcialis buy cialis cialis 20 mg

  37. RobinSeike says:

    ed meds online without doctor prescription Cipro india best price for generic viagra on the internet

  38. RobinSeike says:

    erection pills online canada drug pharmacy ed medications comparison

  39. RobinSeike says:

    ed meds online generic Cipro ed prescription drugs

  40. RobinSeike says:

    canadian pharmacy viagra viagra prices viagra prescription online

  41. RobinSeike says:

    viagra doses 200 mg viagra cheap viagra online canadian pharmacy

  42. RobinSeike says:

    best drugs for ed cheap Prednisone canadian online drugstore

  43. Traviserony says:

    ed pills comparison: best ed treatments natural cures for ed

  44. Traviserony says:

    ed devices: ed remedies that really work top erection pills

  45. LarryCague says:

    viagra without a doctor prescription buy viagra online cheap cost of viagra

  46. LarryCague says:

    best ed pills online prescription drugs from canada hims ed pills

  47. LarryCague says:

    prescription drugs online canadian pharmacy reviews ed causes and cures

  48. LarryCague says:

    viagra prescription viagra cost buy viagra online

  49. LarryCague says:

    cost of generic zithromax zithromax online no prescription zithromax price canada

  50. LarryCague says:

    buy zithromax 500mg online zithromax over the counter uk where can you buy zithromax

  51. LarryCague says:

    zithromax 600 mg tablets zithromax for sale 500 mg zithromax online usa

  52. lisa says:

    Thank you for sharing with us at Works for Me Wednesday!Cold Press Juicer

  53. lisa says:

    Ok I’m going to be honest here and say that I really can’t stomach the thought of drinking that green juice…! That said, I can see that it’s really healthy and I can see why you’re a fan. I wonder if I could convince my veg-shy toddler that it’s the Hulk’s juice?! 😉best small juicer

  54. pdfggg says:

    강남카지노강남카지노바 이용 정보 문의 주세요~!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.