7 Tips to Increase Creativity

Health & Well Being at Work

If you’re looking to improve your creative output then this list is for you. Some of these hints and tips may seem surprising, but give them a go and unleash your creative side.

Switching the brain on

1. A tired brain is more creative.

At first glance this seems very odd but allow me to explain! Creativity springs from allowing our minds to be free to wander and explore what may seem like unrelated thoughts. In contrast when we need to solve problems or be analytical our brain needs complete focus which can only be achieved when we are wide awake and at our optimum. A tired brain finds it difficult to filter distractions but creativity benefits from distractions and random thinking.

2. Exercise for creativity.

Exercise is good for us for a myriad of reasons and a recent study shows that it is beneficial for creativity. “Sweat is like WD-40 for your mind-it lubricates the rusty hinges of your brain and makes your thinking more fluid. Exercise allows your conscious mind to access fresh ideas that are buried in your subconscious.” Psychology Today-Christopher Bergland-The Neuroscience of Imagination

3. Creativity flows in ambient noise.

Silence is useful for sharpening our focus but creative thinking thrives in ambient noise (think buzz of your favourite café), which promotes expansive thoughts and fresh ideas.

Steve Jobs

4. Creativity is not necessarily original.

Coming up with new ideas can be scary and put us under enormous pressure. Actually often generating new ideas comes from making connections between ideas that already exist. “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something.” Steve Jobs

5. Travel to promote creative thinking.

A study has shown that amongst a group of university students, those who travelled abroad rather than just staying on campus scored better on creative thinking tests. This could be explained because when we travel to different countries we experience different cultures and traditions which is bound to broaden our thinking.

Dim Lighting

6. Dim lighting encourages a sense of freedom.

Research shows that dim lighting increases creativity. This is due to our subconscious feeling more free to explore; “…darkness elicits a feeling of being free from constraints and triggers a risky, explorative processing style.”

7. Mess can enhance creativity.

Check out this research…which proves beyond reasonable doubt that having a messy desk can lead to more creative thinking! Wonderful news for a messy person like myself but perhaps not so with your hyper organised tidy boss, still at least you can legitimately argue the case for messiness now! Reference: We have used this article by Belle Beth Cooper for inspiration: Creativity Methods For More Ideas -