3 Ways to Spark Creativity

What do you do when the creative well runs dry?

Any routine, if stuck with long enough, can cause a rut. And for those of us working from home these days, creativity can be especially hard to find. But while difficult, it’s not impossible. Use these three tips to break out of your rut and sprout the creative ideas you’re looking for!

1. Collaborate

In looking at a map, there are many roads that lead to a single destination. Collaboration opens your mind to new and diversified perspectives and can help lead your creative thinking down a new path you otherwise didn’t know existed. New perspectives often lead to increased creativity and greater efficiencies, ultimately resulting in a better end product. 

Because of this, it’s no surprise that studies have shown collaboration to be a fundamental factor in a company’s success. In fact, ideas developed by teams of three or more people are 156% more likely to appeal to consumers than those developed by just one or two people.

Don’t let today’s business landscape deter you from this idea of collaboration. It might seem harder to collaborate with colleagues these days but maybe it doesn’t have to be. For example, my supervisor and I decided it was more beneficial to change our bi-weekly check-ins to weekly check-ins to compensate for the lack of communication that might naturally occur being in an office together. So perhaps just shifting perspective to adapt to the new normal is what may take a bit of getting used to.

2. Create Positive Disruptions

Creating disruption in your daily routine is one of the best ways to get your mind thinking on a new track. While the word disruption sounds quite dramatic, in this context it just means any sort of break in your daily habits to prevent a rut. If you work at a job where you’re in front of a screen all day, creating disruptions can be especially important to help keep your mind engaged.

Positive disruptions are all about switching up the small things. Anything from listening to a new type of music, changing up your exercise route, or trying something new and out of your comfort zone, like a cooking a new recipe. One positive disruption I’ve made is how I choose to spend my lunch break. It can be really easy to get into a habit of eating lunch at your desk every day to keep your work momentum going but I’ve found this can also cause creative burnout. I’ve now started using my lunch break to get out of the house and go for a run. This small change helps me mentally and physically reset to come back to my desk, recharged with a fresh perspective.

3. Get off the grid

If your routine has you plugged-in most of the day, then unplugging and getting off the grid can have an extremely positive impact. Oscar Wilde asked us if art imitated life, or life imitated art. When working in a role where creativity (or art) is a fundamental component, you need the balance of life as a source to draw inspiration. Try taking a break from screen time to draw creative inspiration from other places like family, nature, friends or books. Hey, even Bill Gates has found it to be beneficial!

The world looks different for everyone these days which means our approach to it also may need to be different as well. Be bold and find new paths – creative ideas are sure to follow!