Science-Based Tips to Boost Your Creativity

By Dana P. Rowe, PCC, CPCC, CPQC

One of the most widespread misconceptions about creativity is that it’s only for artists. In fact, creativity can be applied to any aspect of life; you don’t have to paint masterpieces or build skyscrapers. Think about how people approach problems and find solutions every day! Whether they’re brainstorming ideas at work or thinking up ways around traffic on their way home from a meeting, all these little acts are significant examples of creative problem-solving.

What is Creativity?

All of us have experienced creativity in some form or another. Like when you come up with new ideas, invent something innovative, develop an original plan – the list goes on and on. There are many books about how creativity is defined and how to teach people creative thinking skills, so I’m certainly not going to try and cover everything here.

The vital thing to note about creativity is that there are moments when it can be challenging. Having a few creative techniques at your disposal will make the process easier and hopefully get the creative juices flowing! Here are 11 of my favorite ways to get inspired:

 

01 Stop Being So Focused

Yep, you read that right. Take a minute and get unfocused. Like the saying goes, “the best ideas come to us when we’re not even trying.” Research studies show that those so-called eureka moments often happen for writers and physicists alike during non-optimal states or when their mind is wandering.

For example, some people often find great creative solutions in their sleep or come up with creative ideas while taking a shower.

A simple way to open your mind and increase creativity is by staring at an object and allowing your eyes (and mind) to soften focus. Doing so will often help unlock solutions that might not occur if we were in a state of hyper-focused attention on one detail or idea at the expense of others.

 

02 Get Emotional

Sometimes, it can be hard to deal with negative emotions, but here’s something to try next time you’re feeling down or grumpy: get creative. The creative process has been proven to help people get out of a bad mood because they focus their minds entirely on solving an issue or problem. Exercising your creative skills can help you forget whatever it was that made you upset in the first place.

Research has found that positive and negative emotional states can actually boost creativity. So when that sweet disposition of yours starts turning sour, try using that negative energy to boost your creative thinking and find inspiration.

 

03 Mind Maps

A mind map is a great way to come up with ideas and boost creativity. You can think of it as an informal brainstorming session that helps you gather your thoughts without worrying about being categorized or organized later. It’s an excellent tool for making connections between ideas, developing one’s intuition, and boosting creative thinking.

Mind mapping is ideal for recording your wildest and craziest ideas without stopping to be critical or self-edit. You can always critique later on and generate new ideas by “piggybacking” your original ideas.

Many apps and computer programs can help you mind map your way to creative solutions and break away from the same old stuff, but for me, nothing beats a big piece of kraft paper and crayons or the sound of chalk on a giant chalkboard. Needless to say, mind mapping with a collaborator (see 05 Collaborate) can be really fun and lead to an exceptional creative solution or five!

 

04 Take a Walk

According to Stanford researchers, walking helps with creativity and also improves sleep quality. The study found that when participants were given two hours of mild activity throughout the day, including a walk in between lunch and dinner, they experienced increased cognitive function compared to those who remained seated for the entire period.

Taking a meditative stroll outside is one of the most effective techniques to develop new ideas or solutions. Getting present in nature is restorative and inspirational for me, bringing clarity into my mind when it’s cluttered from being in the same physical and social surroundings and simply trying too hard.

 

05 Collaborate

Collaboration can be a powerful tool. Creativity is boosted when people learn from each other and hold one another accountable for their actions. Research shows that an even more significant number of creative solutions come from culturally diverse collaborations.

If you need a creative boost and want to be more productive, work with a friend on a creative project. It might just make everyone involved feel more inspired, and you’ll come up with a great idea or two in the meantime! I have often said that collaboration keeps me honest; I’m much less likely to skip out or put something off if someone else has agreed that they’ll do the same thing at the same time.

 

06 Create Restrictions

Although it is commonly believed that having more choices boosts creativity, research studies show that restricting choice by limiting people’s options has boosted creativity. When fewer choices are available, we are forced to focus on what really matters and hone our attention skills.

Designer, Damien Correll, said in an interview with Meg Franklin, “Constraints usually make me think in a different way than I would maybe naturally think. I find they make the process a little more enjoyable, and the final output is usually something I’m more proud of.”

 

07 Use the Six Thinking Hats Technique

In 1985 Edward DeBono wrote a book called Six Thinking Hats, which unveiled a problem-solving model consisting of six mindsets. The six hats represent different perspectives and have been identified by their colors: Blue Hat for rational, White Hat for logical, Yellow hat for positive, Red hat for emotional, Black Hat for negative thinking, and Green hat for positive.

You can wear the six different colored hats to try on a different perspective. Each hat gives you access to information that is usually blocked by other perspectives and allows your mind multiple entry points in solving problems or making decisions, encouraging collaboration among diverse teams and encourages divergent thinking.

I’m delighted by this concept. From a neurobiological point of view, it’s rock-solid because our brains are more than happy to try on different points of view. And if you’re really stuck, making yourself six hats to play this game sounds like a super fun way to let your mind wander until inspiration hits. (See 01 Stop Being So Focused.)

Rose Keefe over at Toggle.com has written a more detailed explanation of the Six Thinking Hats technique.

 

08 Pick a Terrible Idea

If you can’t come up with the best idea ever, maybe try coming up with a terrible one. This will help shift your mindset and make it easier to think of better ideas than what you originally came up with.

There was a producer I worked with who always had off-the-wall suggestions. And they were so awful that my collaborators and I somehow immediately came up with better solutions. I’m not sure if this is because we were actually inspired or if it was out of fear the producer might insist on their idea being implemented. For whichever reason — it works!

 

09 Practice Meditation

It’s pretty much common knowledge that meditation is not only restorative and encourages healthy brain function, but the contribution it made to my own creativity makes it a “must mention” here.

The bottom line is that meditation and mindfulness practices, in general, can help boost your creativity, and people who meditate tend to be more creative and emotionally stable than people who don’t! Researchers found that even meditation for as little as 30 minutes per day for a week leads to increased creativity and emotional regulation abilities.

A research team conducted a study and asked students to practice mindfulness meditation which involves observing the present moment or performing relaxation training techniques. When participants underwent tests that measured their cognitive skills before and after different sessions, they concluded those who practiced meditation showed increased creativity compared with others in the group!

You are the best judge of how you should meditate to improve your own creative thinking. Your body and mind will tell you, but remember that even five minutes can help you feel more centered and open-minded.

 

10 Stay Curious and Keep Learning

It is common for job advertisements to mention the importance of curiosity, passion, and inquisitiveness. Employers want employees who have a thirst for knowledge; they are looking for innovative thinking skills or people who can think outside the box. Clearly, curiosity is an integral part of staying creative!

It’s interesting to note that there are two types of curiosity – general and specific.

General is associated with exploring various topics, whereas the latter focuses on acquiring precise information that you don’t know yet about a specific topic or concept.

I love the old adage, “You can’t know and be curious at the same time.” Try keeping a beginner’s mind and train yourself to focus on fewer puzzles and more mysteries.

Some good questions to ask yourself to encourage creative thinking: What sources of information should you explore fully before starting the idea generation phase? Are you curious about all aspects or just some things? Is there a “something more” that you’re not considering here?”

 

11 Develop a Growth Mindset

People with a growth mindset believe that their abilities are malleable and not fixed, which means they can improve over time through effort. Carol Dweck researched the subject of mindsets, specifically how having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset affects success in life.

Additional benefits of having a growth mindset include achieving greater satisfaction from work and relationships, increasing perseverance when facing challenges like adversity or failure, overcoming fear by believing intelligence is something one works on rather than possesses naturally.

Successful people with a growth mindset have an optimistic approach to challenges instead of those who see them as insurmountable obstacles; these individuals also try new things more often and let go of old ideas more quickly than their less successful counterparts.

The good news is it’s relatively easy to develop a healthy mind and shift to a more positive growth mindset when you have the proper tools!

 

Final Thoughts

I hope that you’ve been able to find at least one of these tips useful. If not, don’t give up! There are numerous ways to boost your creativity, and it just takes time for us all to figure out what works best for each person individually. Let me know which tip was your favorite, or share any other ideas about how one might be more creative on my social channels. I love hearing from you!

Suppose you really want to delve deeper into the science of creativity after reading this article. In that case, I recommend a book by my good friend and collaborator James C. Kaufman, Ph.D., called Creativity 101. It’s the go-to book on creativity for academics and laypeople alike.