10 Ways to Boost Your Creativity in Under 10 Minutes
We all lead busy lives. This doesn’t leave much time in our days to spend creatively, but your creative muscle is just like any other muscle; it needs to be exercised often or it starts to get tense. And we know we can’t let that happen! While you may not have time to sit for hours every day and create something new, you probably have at least 10 minutes to spare. Here are 10 ways to boost your creativity in under 10 minutes.
1. Doodle: Pulling out a pen and some scratch paper is one of the simplest ways to exercise the right side of your brain. It doesn’t matter what you doodle, just that you’re giving yourself the opportunity to let your mind wander.
2. Listen to Music:Studies show that our brains function better after listening to music, but the trick is that it has to be music we ENJOY. Put on your favorite playlist and the let the inspiration flow.
3. Read: While you may not have time to get through a giant novel, a few pages of a book should be easy reading in 10 minutes. Reading helps us to open our minds to new ways of thinking, which is a great way to boost your creativity quickly.
4. Take a Power Nap: Let’s be honest — most of us DON’T get our recommended 8 hours of sleep every night. A 10-minute power nap may be just the thing to give your brain a creative boost. Studies show that the brain’s right side, our creative side, is incredibly active during naps while the left side is fairly inactive. If you’ve ever needed an excuse for nap time in the office, here it is!
5. Open Up Pinterest: When your brain feels too full to function, why not take a quick trip to Pinterest to refresh your creativity in the most visual way? With a million great ideas, it’s hard not to find an inspirational spark.
6. Go for a Walk: Steve Jobs was well known for taking his meetings while walking in the hills behind his house. He believed it was more conducive to creative thinking, and he’s not the only one. A Stanford study shows that walking outdoors (or even indoors) boosts your creative inspiration. So take a 10-minute break and get moving!
7. Take Time to Daydream: With all the information we process every day, our brains can feel a bit overloaded. An overloaded brain can make it difficult to come up with creative ideas on command. Why not try letting yourself daydream for 10 minutes to give your brain a little bit of break? Who knows what creative idea you might come up with along the way?
8. Build Something: Don’t worry, we’re not telling you to go build a house or anything like that, but did you know playing with LEGOS can quickly boost your creativity? Place a bowl of LEGOs on your desk at work. The next time you’re in a creative slump, try taking a few minutes to build something new.
9. Have a Drink: Yup, we said it! According to an article in the Huffington Post, researchers found that a certain level of inebriation can actually HELP get your creativity going. It’s the best excuse around to take some time to enjoy that glass of wine!
10. Stare at Something Green: Nope, we are not messing with you. A study actually showed that people who took a peek at something green before a task were able to come up with more imaginative and creative answers than those who were shown other colors. It’s time to go stare at some trees!
Already have a creative idea in mind? Submit your idea to Brit + Co’s #IAMCREATIVE foundation for a chance to win $15,000 to kickstart your creative dream!
