4 ways to jumpstart your creativity

You know the feeling of wanting to be creative but feeling blocked when you need it the most? I think we all know it. I wrote about some ways that I use to think of content ideas here, but I was thinking about it a bit more since this is one of the most common questions I get asked. How do you jumpstart creativity? More important, how do you feel INSPIRED to be creative. Because I think the ultimate goal is to feel inspired so that you CAN create.

Let’s go!

A lot of articles you read on creativity will tell you things like “go take a bubble bath”, which yes, go take a bubble bath, that sounds awesome, but these are some actionable things that work for me and my team.

1. Look back at history. I find that really digging into a subject is one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with a topic AND feel inspired to do create in a fresh way. For example, in my field of crafts, I can look at craft books from the hey day of crafting, the 50s-70s, and get so inspired by the types of crafts and even the color palettes. You can do this with really old things like ancient Greece or Rome or whatever it is. I studied art history so I’m constantly looking to the past to see what I can modernize. It’s super inspiring to see what’s already been done because we don’t always know about it!
2. Listen to music/watch your favorite personalities or videos. I talked to one of our team members, Jane, our photographer/videographer, about what she does and she said that she puts on music and watches some of her favorite YouTube videos that make her happy to get her into the right vibe. I realize that I do this too! Lately, I’ve been super into gardening so I’ve been going onto YouTube and watching Claus Dalby’s new YouTube channel. He’s a Danish gardener who has the loveliest garden and teaches how to do it. The music, the vibe, everything is inspiring! I come away wanting to get going on my own!
3. Write/draw things down. Honestly, I bet you’re more creative than you think you are! No truly! I bet you have ideas all day long but maybe don’t remember them or attribute it to being creative. It’s my job to churn out ideas all day long so perhaps I’m more aware of them than someone who doesn’t have a creative job. Acknowledge those moments throughout the day whether it’s the things you want to be creative in or not. For example, problem solving is a form of creativity. And that’s basically what humans do all day long. Channel that problem solving into what you’re hoping to be creative in. Write down your ideas or draw them out. The most important thing is to not forget them. Sometimes I find myself getting so excited about the ideas in my head that I may not feel the need to write them down, but always always it’s good to get that brain dump out of your head!
4. Pairing things together. A moment of creativity always comes when two unlike things are paired together and either have good synergy or don’t. Try pairing things up! For example, I’m endlessly inspired by color. Just color in general. That magic moment when one color goes SO WELL with another color is truly so magical. Try this exercise in your room or on Pinterest or with paint chips or with whatever you have around. Take a color you love and find something that goes well with it. I think you’ll be surprised! The more you do it, the more you will probably know what will be successful. It’s a confidence booster!

I’d love to hear your ideas too! Let me know how you kickstart your creativity in the comments!