9 Easy Little Ways To Boost Your Creativity
By Heather Shay
Choosing to go into a creative career is one of my constant love/hate feelings (99% of the time I can’t get enough of it). I get to write for hours and develop new ideas. Being weird is completely accepted and honestly a little encouraged. It’s still considered working when you put your feet up on the desk and talk about TV shows, movies and vine compilation.
When I tell people I’m a writer, one of the first things people say is, “I wish I was creative enough to do something like that.” The truth is, though, anyone can be taught how to think creatively and I’m here to teach you how in 9 easy steps.
1. Loose the fear of being wrong. Anything and everything goes. Say it or write it. Get all of your ideas out of your brain. Even the bad ones. And let’s face it, there are a lot of bad writings out there. I’m lookin’ at you, Yahoo articles.
2. Watch a lot of movies, read a lot of books. Put a bunch of ideas in your brain and allow them to mold together. Also, who doesn’t like watching a documentary about puppies for “research”?
3. Welcome the creative block. Know when you need a break. Being creative can be tiring and you need to look away from your project so you can clear your head and recollect your thoughts. Procrastination is a glorious thing and allows you to be very productive with tasks just as painting your toes or watching all 8 seasons of your favorite show on Netflix.
4. Pound your head against a wall/table/any hard surface available when the block won’t go away. Sometimes those pesky little ideas just don’t want to come out of your head. Help them by repeating this process until they are abused out of your brain.
5. Master the skill of deciphering notes that you made at 3 a.m. Great ideas like to strike in the middle of the night. Learn to read late night scribbles (aka jibberish) when you wake up to remember what they were. Trust me, “Blue cow. spaghetti. sequins.” is a valuable list… probably.
6. Drink black coffee. This probably doesn’t do anything, but it really helps you create that angsty writer ambience.
7. Wear all black. Your coolness factor sores through the roof and again it’s all about the ambience.
8. Have a support group. If you don’t have someone in your life that’s willing to change all of your social media passwords so you can actually get some work done you should really reevaluate if you have the right kind of friends in your life.
9. Have some fun. Go to the park. A museum. Play a board game. Creativity comes from enjoying yourself.