Six tips and tricks to get your creative juices flowing

The Covid-19 pandemic has left most of us feeling absolutely burnt out. It’s been a couple of highly testing years which have taken a toll on everyone’s mental health at some level. Also, with the weather getting chillier, it is understandable if all you wish to do all day is laze around with a hot cup of tea and a good book. However, if you are longing for that creative energy but can’t seem to muster it up, then you may have to try a few tips and tricks to get those juices flowing! From turning inwards to documenting your thoughts, here are six tips to get your creative spark back, compiled with the help of Psychology Today. 

Put pen to paper

Most of the time, the greatest ideas are already there in your mind, hiding just below all the worries and anxieties relating to everyday life, and writing your thoughts down can often help them come up to the surface. Just grab a notebook and a pen and start writing. It may feel difficult at first, but once you get into the flow of things, you’ll find yourself documenting thoughts you didn’t even know you had! Write early in the morning or just before you go to bed. Documenting your dreams can also help!  

Seek out new experiences

If you’re stuck in a rut, chances are your brain won’t cooperate much when it comes to churning out new ideas. You need to place yourself in an unfamiliar setting to get your brain to do some much-needed exercise and get those creative juices flowing! Take a walk in a new locality or take yourself out for dinner in a restaurant you haven’t been to yet. Travel is a great source of inspiration, but you don’t have to splurge on a plane ticket to refresh. New experiences are all around you, but you have to be willing to seek them out! 

Turn inwards 

If you feel burnt out, it may be time for some soul searching. Look within. What purpose do you want your creativity to serve? What kind of art do you wish to create and why? These questions can help you gain mental clarity, leaving more space for fresh ideas to take root. Don’t be afraid of solitude and allow yourself to feel all of your emotions.

Don’t focus on perfection  

Sometimes we become so intensely focused on creating the perfect masterpiece, we begin to dread creating anything in the first place. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Sometimes, quantity is better than quality! Grab a paintbrush and just go for it, or type out a story even if it isn’t the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel you wanted it to be. Just do it!

Look for outside perspectives  

It’s easy to get locked up inside our own heads, and in times like this, it’s important to bring in new perspectives to help look at things from a fresh angle. Talk to someone who is from a different cultural background or watch a film in a language you don’t speak. Read books by authors you don’t normally read and on topics you may not always go for. The varying voices can help you find your own!

It’s okay to procrastinate 

Finally, don’t force yourself to be creative. If you feel like you need to sleep on it, then heading to bed really may be your best bet. Sometimes, our best ideas come to us when we aren’t actively trying to think them up!