As I am sitting here, putting together the last phases of my Creativity Course, I thought I could share some helpful tips. No doubt these have helped me out over the years to constantly and consistently create new work. Because what a lot of people won’t tell you is that thinking up new images and ideas all the time can be challenging, and it can weigh down on you if you don’t have some helpful tools to keep you going. It is easy to burn out. Since it is one of the things I get asked about the most, I decided to put something together so it can be of use to more people.
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Now on to those helpful tips I was talking about ;)
1. Visualization session
Put your timer on for 3-10 min (more if you can, but the timer is there to allow yourself to dive deep without worrying about losing track of time or getting carried away). Then, put your phone on airplane mode to avoid interrupting notifications.
Close your eyes, put on some music if you wish (or soundscapes, rain, waves, etc.), and visualize yourself somewhere.
A beach or sitting on top of a mountain. It can be somewhere you enjoy going to, or somewhere you just make up. Imagine your senses. Imagine the sounds, what your skin feels like on the sand, the way the cold wind bites the tip of your nose, or the feel of the sun on your skin.
The point is to visualize yourself there.
Then, as you get better, you can start imagining performing actions, like working on a painting on the beach, creating a floating image on the edge of a cliff, assorting stars in a way that resembles something. You can get as creative as you would like, or you can just sit there on your imaginary beach and watch the water. This is a great way to let your imagination take full reign and explore even the impossible. This exercises what I like to call “your creativity muscles”. The stronger they become, the easier it gets to develop different ideas when you feel stuck.
2. Doodling session
This can be a little harder than you initially think because the sole purpose of this exercise is to try and not make anything in particular.
You just want to create marks and follow the instinct of flow. You want to make each mark a reaction to the last, not something preconceived or anything that you try to make too perfect.
The one thing you have to try to do, though, is not to touch any of the old marks; you should make each mark separate from the last. If you lift the pen, brush, or pencil, you then start a new mark line.
It can be short marks, long marks, or both. As long as each new line doesn’t touch the others. It becomes a sort of puzzle. Sometimes I like to make a whole page covered in these doodles, coming back to fill it out during breaks throughout the day or week. It helps shift the mind to an easy creative problem-solving task without stressing it out too much.
This is actually a great thing to do when you are stressed and need to relax. Sometimes these doodles come out looking really cool too.
Below is one of mine:
3. Exercise
Whether it be a walk down the street, a full-on run, light swim, putting some headphones on and dancing (a favorite of mine), or a yoga sequence. Exercise helps stimulate your brain, get the blood flowing, and reduce anxiety, which can be a massive killer of creativity.
4. Paint the Town
Or draw it. Get your pocket notebook/ sketchbook. (If you know me, I always say this is a must for everyone, even if you don’t consider yourself a visual artist.)
This is great for writers, musicians, scientists, mathematicians, and everyone in between. Have a pen and/or pencil and a sketchbook that is easily accessible for those moments of thought.
Why not just put it in a phone, you ask?
Because the act of your handwriting/drawing helps activate different parts of your brain. AND filling out something like a sketchbook over time enables you to recognize patterns, inspirations that develop in your own interests and curiosities.
Sometimes, when looking for a new idea, I just go back to look through some sketches that I have previously done.
It doesn’t have to be just for drawing; it can be full of writing, crappy doodles, collaged clippings, or all of the above. It is there for you to play in and to record. To get those mundane and exciting ideas, phrases, sketches of things you find exciting or attention-grabbing.
This is an excellent aid for an artist trying to discover their “voice” or visual language or someone discovering their next best song, epiphany, or invention. I CAN NOT STRESS ENOUGH how important carrying around a sketchbook is, particularly for visual artists. So get something small that is easy to throw in the bag or carry around but not too tiny to write or draw in. And of course, your pencil or pen of choice.
5. Try something new
Whether it is a new material, a new process, or a technique, trying something new lights up your brain with activity, and it also releases a beautiful little hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is a happy hormone, and when your brain is happy, creativity flows better.
Other ways to try something new is to try a new route to work… or try using your less dominant hand instead of your dominant hand. For example, my right hand is my dominant hand, so sometimes I will try and do little tasks with my left hand or even practice drawing or writing with it.
Another great one is to try dipping into a new language ( A GREAT stimulation for new ideas). Trying something that pushes you outside of your box a little helps get your mindset back into the right gear for creating. If you have ever studied or spoken more than 1 language, you understand that there are plenty of words and phrases with no direct translation in English. Those pockets of language barriers can serve as a fun exploration for an artist, visual or other.
* Try language apps like “Duolingo”. They make learning fun, and they have great free features. They also break the learning down into small sessions so you can do a quick one if you only have a few minutes, or you can stay on and continue for a streak :)*
Learning a new language has actually been proven to help with neuroplasticity as well, and that is always useful when you are trying to improve your creative thinking/problem-solving.
BONUS TIP
Put your phone down when you are bored or stuck. Too often, we revert to social media to help us think up ideas or entertain ourselves. We risk getting lazy, allowing the social media world to dictate our direction of thought. So much that I actually believe it is affecting the growth of many artists today. Too many people create things that they see work for someone else, making something similar, not taking time to discover their own interests or voice.
With that said, I think every artist should research other artists, get inspired by other creatives, and be up to date with their contemporaries… even play with other artists’ processes and techniques and styles. BUT there can be a point where the journey in discovering your voice can be hijacked by chasing an “Instagram aesthetic”.
Next time you are waiting in line, keep that phone in your purse or pocket. Instead, become an observer, take in the scene in front of you. Look for things that are a bit quirky or something that the average person may just look past. Don’t only open up your visual sense but all the others. Take in the scent, sound, temperature. Just take it allllll in. Doing this helps your brain get out of that fog we tend to get into when we are just going through our daily motions.
AND Keep Going!
Creativity is like a muscle. It can atrophy. You can strengthen it or tire it out. I don’t believe that some people are creative and some aren’t. Creativity is seen in so many other ways than just on a canvas or in a song.
Problem-solving is a type of creativity, planning is a type of creativity, picking out an outfit for the day, etc. So when we are more comfortable in our creative mind, it really does positively affect other aspects of our life.
I hope these tips help you as they have helped me keep the flow of ideas coming for years. August 31, 2021, my Creative Course opens. In there, I dive deeper into the importance of creativity and how to access your most creative self. To get the first notifications when it goes live, sign up here! Keep Calm and Get Creative!
X Jill