Do Something! Stop Waiting to Feel Creative

If you are waiting for inspiration to hit you like a ton of bricks, you may be waiting a long time. Whenever I have waited to be inspired to create, I end up wishing I had just started something instead of waiting. I created this list to help you and me the next time we need to create something and our muses are not working as quickly as we would like them to:

Make Something

• Start with a simple question and write for ten minutes. Don’t correct as you write, just keep your hand moving. The editor in my head hates this exercise, but I find it very helpful to free write and make space for focused writing.
• Get dirty with art supplies. I keep paints, colored pencils, pastels and ink at the ready for spontaneous art projects. Creating art has always been a part of my life. I went to school to be an artist and this is where I return when I desperately need a reminder that I am creative.

Meet Someone In Person

• Join a friend or group for breakfast, lunch or coffee. Get out of your office or home and meet someone for lively conversation. Ask them what they are up to and genuinely be interested in what they have to say. Focusing on other people is a great way to get out of your own head and discover new ideas.
• Find a local Meetup. The great thing about meetups is you can find people who love the same things you do and get together almost any day of the week. I have met some great people at these kinds of events and I always enjoy making new friends.

Get Your Body Moving

• Exercise. It is proven that exercise releases all kinds of feel good hormones and improves creativity. When you feel stuck, get up and move around. I have a jump rope I keep by my desk. Actually, I have two of them. Picking up the rope and jumping for a few minutes takes me back to my childhood and it lightens my mood. Just a few minutes of exercise tends to get the creative juices flowing.
• Take a Walk. Author, Henry David Thoreau said, ” Methinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow, as if I had given vent to the stream at the lower end and consequently new fountains flowed into it at the upper.” I could not agree more! I used to walk at the park without listening to music or my favorite podcasts. Instead, the simple act of walking and allowing my thoughts to flow freely always helped me come up with a few creative ideas. Walking not only benefits you physically, it gives you a much needed mental boost.

Give Your Ideas Somewhere to Live

• One of my favorite places to store my ideas is a morgue. I learned about the concept of a morgue from my college graphic design instructor. He had a large file cabinet full of pictures and images from magazines we could use to draw on for inspiration. He told us, “Everything in this cabinet is dead until you give it life.” I never forgot that and I currently maintain a few morgues of my own. Here are some suggestions of ways you can start a morgue of your own:
  • Pinterest is perfect for creating a digital morgue of ideas and inspiration. It is hands down one of the most visually stunning places on the internet to store your inspirations. I like to go through my boards periodically to look for patterns in the the things I have been pinning. I have noticed color relationships, words or phrases that keep popping up or styles of photography I find fascinating. I also love
  • Evernote acts as my digital file cabinet. I send lots of PDF files here that I reference later when I need to create graphics or layout work for clients. I also take pictures of my handwritten notes and drawings and archive those for later. It is a great tool for keeping just about everything in one place.
  • The Pocket App is my daily archive of articles and videos I want to reference for later. I love using this app on my smartphone and it has been invaluable in keeping a morgue of good reads and reference materials.

When you feel your creativity waning, make something with your hands or meet a friend and bounce ideas off of them. Also, get your body moving and keep a notebook (physical or digital) near by to record your ideas. Next time you need a creative boost, do something!

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