Creativity: 4 Habits To Build Your Creative Inspiration

In our February writer’s group meeting we discussed creativity. Three writers in the group were blocked, and several others struggled to get back to regular writing after Christmas and New Year.

I’ve found this too. If I take more than a week off from writing, it seems as if I’ve got out of the habit of creativity. It’s almost impossible to focus; I’m easily distracted.

This article, Ten Habits of Highly Creative People, offers interesting insights:

Creative people are particularly good at exercising flexibility in activating and deactivating these brain networks that in most people tend to be at odds with each other. In doing so, they’re able to juggle seemingly contradictory modes of thought—cognitive and emotional, deliberate and spontaneous.

Instant creativity: can you be creative on demand?

Writers and other creative people need to be creative on demand. From our group’s experiences, it seems as though it’s easy to get out of the habit of creativity.

Here are four habits which may help to build your creativity again.

1. Do something creative every day

Bored with writing? Try something else. Creativity blossoms, because you’re activating the creative part of your brain.

Your creative options are endless:

• Start an art journal;
• Bake a cake;
• Take photos of your kids on your phone…

Anything you do which is creative will help to build your creative inspiration.

2. Keep a journal: bullet journals are perfect as creativity enhancers

A bullet journal will build your productivity — and your creativity too.

It will also help you to free up your mind and write:

When you’re writing a novel, there’s a lot to keep in your mind. Plot, characters, timeline — when you start tinkering with these elements, while you’re writing, the temptation is to go back, and write new scenes, and eliminate scenes. The impulse to fix it NOW is almost irresistible, yet resist it you must.

3. Allow yourself time to be creative: daydream

You can’t be creative if every second of your time is scheduled. Take time for yourself, even if it’s only five minutes.

During this time, don’t force yourself to be creative, or to do anything. Daydream about anything you like. Daydreaming isn’t wasted time: it’s essential for creativity.

4. Collect sources of inspiration

What inspires you? Create a mood board or mood journal to collect inspiration: images, quotes, photographs — anything which intrigues you, or gives you pleasure.

You could even create an inspiration board on Pinterest. Make the board secret, and pin your inspirations.

Kickstart your creativity every day

When you build creative habits your creativity will blossom.

However, remember that building habits takes time. Initially, you’ll need to schedule your journaling, or whatever habit you’re building. Within month or two you’ll be able to stop scheduling.

You’ve built a creative habit.

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