(Photography: Canva)
If you’re feeling stuck creatively, these tips can help you reconnect with your inner artist and make creativity part of your everyday, plus we have 30 days of creative prompts for you to download!
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Pablo Picasso
As a child, one of my favourite Disney movies was Peter Pan. He seemed to have it all, Tinkerbell, fairy dust, the ability to fly, adventures in Neverland and of course, he never grows up. But what is it that makes us want to stay young forever?
Perhaps, it’s the abundance of creativity in a child’s life, endless curiosity, new learnings every day, listening to exciting stories and always developing new skills. As we get older, life gets busy with work, kids and responsibilities. The magical spark we feel when we let our imaginations run wild takes a back seat.
But what if that doesn’t need to be the case? You can bring that spark back and focus on the activities that make you happy, whether it’s writing, painting, gardening, playing an instrument, or simply expressing yourself in new ways.
Just like we have a routine for work, fitness, sleep and diet, it’s important to create a process to get your creativity flowing. After all, creativity is just as integral to your health. It reduces stress and anxiety, boosts mood and feelings of fulfilment, improves problem-solving skills and enhances memory and focus.
4 ways to build a creative routine
Here’s how to begin. Dedicate anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours, adapting the schedule to fit your day.
- Warm-up (5 min): Get your ideas flowing. Write, draw, or practice your hobby – nonstop. Use prompts when you’re stuck.
- Review & goal setting (10 min): Revisit past work and set a clear goal for this session, such as drafting, editing or refining.
- Work on your project (40 min): Focus on progress. Skip perfection. If needed, divide your time into two 20-minute slots with a short break.
- Wrap-up: Note your stopping point and plan tomorrow’s task. Acknowledge your progress, you’re one step closer!
We have a free, downloadable 30-day creative prompt calendar to help get started on your creative journey.
How to be creative every day
- Morning journaling: take a few minutes first thing every morning to write what’s on your mind. Over time, you’ll find yourself coming up with new insights and ideas.
- Be curious: curiosity fuels our desire to explore, question and come up with new perspectives. As Albert Einstein said, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
- Embrace failure: it’s okay to fail. Change your mindset and look at failure as a learning opportunity. Take risks and try new ideas!
- Quick sketches: doodle in your notebook with a timer on. Use a prompt for inspiration and see what you’re able to create. To make it extra challenging, opt to draw a continuous line drawing where you can’t lift your pencil off the page.
- Writing prompts: it could be a favourite quote, an image, or something in the world around you. Use it as a prompt to inspire your craft and provoke storytelling.
Creativity grows stronger with practice. Make time for it daily, and you’ll find it gets easier and more natural every day!
