10 effective ways to stimulate your creativity

Have you ever found yourself faced with that great white wall of creative infertility when you need new ideas most? Stress related to the urgency of projects most of the time destroys everything creativity and then it’s a downward spiral, with stress increasing as the deadline approaches.

How can you fight these immense voids, this paralysis of your imagination? Here are some ideas that will definitely help you!

1. Don’t force creativity and move forward

When it doesn’t come, don’t try to force it, the ideas won’t come that way. Instead, you will focus on the problem (the deadline) more than the creation. Take a break!

2. Listen to music

The effects of music they differ depending on the person. For some it promotes concentration, creativity and mental relaxation. Listening to the music we like «triggers a secretion of dopamine in the brain, like cocaine and amphetamines» according to Robert Zatorre, professor of neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal.

However, it seems that it is better to listen to popular music before working and not during working hours. This would cause catastrophic effects on profitability, concentration and retention. Here is an infographic created by Sonos on the music to listen to depending on your work:

3. Take a shower

I know, it might seem strange. However, scientists have become interested in the brains of rappers in full improvisation. They thus noted that the relaxation of executive functions, which allows a relaxation of attention, would be one of the main characteristics of creativity. And it is precisely during the shower that the relaxation of executive functions is complete.

Dopamine is also the ally of creativity and this neurohormone is released when the body feels good and relaxes. So, there’s nothing like a shower!

4. What would you do so and so in my place?

Try to imagine how your great role model would react to your situation to address the problem you are experiencing.

How Steve Jobs would approach this case, how Jacques Brel would write this song, how Laurent Gaudé would write this story,…

This will allow your brain to take completely new paths and think in an original way.

5. Coffee

THE coffee it is also an element that increases dopamine. Without excessive consumption, it can prove to be an effective ally.

6. Tidy up your desk

Again, this may seem surprising, but it works for me. Sometimes my desk is covered with a whole pile of notebooks (I like Oxford brand Active Book notebooks), various documents, cans, cables, magazines, etc.

I need a clean and tidy desk to go to work. If I stay in this messy situation (Excuse my FrenchEnglish speakers will understand), impossible for me to be productive or creative.

The reordering process also seems to have its effects thanks to an element that we will see in the next point.

7. Take time to do nothing

Even taking a walk, jogging, tidying up your desk, clearing your head in any way is productive! You can also simply do nothing. These times are absolutely essential for your balance.

In fact, distraction is also a criterion for stimulating creativity. In these moments the sterility of reflection breaks down. The subconscious mind thinks in the background, while you wander, it digests the information, bringing good ideas to the conscious brain, this is called the incubation period. This is certainly the most complicated point for hyperactive people, but a healthy lifestyle is essential for the good functioning of the brain, and free time and sport are part of it.

8. Change position

If you have a laptop, take your work elsewhere if you can, especially if you’re self-employed and work from home. It’s difficult to find new ideas in your small office or in an overly familiar environment.

Going to a bar with wifi, to a park, meeting people, sitting on a sofa, creates a stimulating emulsion.

9. The notebook

Try making him your new companion. This can be a real notebook or an application on your smartphone Maintain from Google.

Write down everything that comes to mind. We know that creativity often surprises you when you least expect it.

You can then write the lyrics to your next hit (or even record the melody with another application on your smartphone), write a sentence for the novel you’re writing, scribble a sketch as a starting point for your next website, etc.

10. Turn off Wi-Fi

The waltz of distractions brought by the Internet takes too long. Facebook notifications, your Twitter account flashing in the background, that all-important email you absolutely have to respond to, that all-important Google search that ends up taking you to a People site where you waste 15 minutes reading how Alexandra Lamy is recovering from her split from Jean Dujardin, all of this is seriously damaging your concentration. Turning off the Internet is definitely the smartest reflex when you’re under pressure!