How to be More Creative (77 Ways)

January 9, 2020

Creativity is one of those things that sounds romantically easy to do, but often leaves you scratching your head. Even the creative geniuses get stumped from time to time.

The key to getting your creative mojo going is practice. Consistent practice.

Since January is International Creativity Month, I wanted to give you some ideas about how you can add more creativity to your everyday life. Here are 77 ways to get started:

  1. Take the Creativity Test
  2. Doodle
  3. Read more books
  4. Drink alcohol
  5. Call a friend
  6. Listen to music
  7. Get rid of stuff
  8. Take a quick nap
  9. Keep a dream diary
  10. Put your phone away
  11. Take the 30 circles test
  12. Ask yourself questions to boost your curiosity
  13. Have a chat with older folks (they have a broader thinking style)
  14. Cook something different
  15. Stand on your head (blood to the brain does wonders)
  16. Drink coffee
  17. Do something with your hands
  18. Watch a movie genre you haven’t seen before
  19. Pick a muse
  20. Make mistakes on purpose
  21. Paint
  22. Try a different hobby
  23. Socialize
  24. Carry a notebook everywhere you go and write down things that catch your eye
  25. Study a language
  26. Get rejected
  27. Drink a glass of water (your brain needs hydration to work well)
  28. Go for a walk in nature
  29. Practice something
  30. Tidy up
  31. Create clutter
  32. Do something backwards. For example, eat dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner.
  33. Go somewhere new
  34. Mow the lawn (fresh-cut grass releases chemicals that make you happier and more relaxed)
  35. Play with your pet
  36. Sing
  37. Stretch
  38. Go down the rabbit hole on the internet
  39. Daydream
  40. Do a mental exercise like a crossword puzzle
  41. Hang out with other creative people
  42. Write down a fantasy
  43. Color outside the lines (literally, color a picture but  refuse to stay in the lines)
  44. Get together with friends
  45. Stay up late
  46. Take a shower (it puts you in the “default mode network”)
  47. Have an open mind
  48. Dance
  49. Make a list of anything you can think of
  50. Watch an old cartoon
  51. Spend time alone
  52. Rearrange the furniture
  53. Look at a situation from someone else’s point of view
  54. Do some deep breathing
  55. Talk to a child
  56. Practice yoga
  57. Play a game
  58. Smile
  59. Start a swipe file
  60. Look at the stars
  61. Reset your goals
  62. Write a hand-written letter
  63. Listen more, talk less
  64. Set a deadline
  65. Write a story
  66. Light a scented candle
  67. Sleep on the other side of the bed
  68. Travel to someplace exotic
  69. Do something ridiculous
  70. Narrow what you focus on
  71. Wear your favorite clothes
  72. Laugh
  73. Start a gratitude journal
  74. Eat with your nondominant hand
  75. Look out the window
  76. Schedule creative time
  77. Have faith

What would you add to the list?

Photo credit: Skitterphoto on Pixabay

About Carla

Carla Johnson Innovation Creativity Speaker Author

Carla Johnson helps leaders who are often paralyzed by traditional thinking. They suffer from slow growth, an eroding competitive advantage, low employee engagement, and depleted investor confidence. Their teams lack purpose and progress and constantly battle a resistance to change and new ideas.

As the world’s leading innovation architect, Carla’s spent 20 years helping leaders shatter limits and discover undiscovered possibilities. Through years of research, she’s developed a simple, scalable 5-step process that teaches people how to consistently produce inspired ideas that lead to uncommon outcomes.

Carla Johnson Innovation Creativity Speaker Author