Easy tips to boost creativity

Jack London once said, "You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club." Be open to new experiences and to try new things, because not only can help you broaden your horizons, but it'll boost creativity with your next project. Your creativity can blossom in more areas of your life than just at work or even just sitting at a desk. Yeah, you're probably tired from exercising your brain to get that typography just right on your current project, but the satisfaction you've gained from that can be found in so many other places, and could actually make you better at your job. You don't have to go try something crazy first, start small. Making dinner can be more than just warming up yesterday's pizza. Or, let's be real, just eating it cold right out of the box. Think about your favorite places to eat and why they're your favorite. Maybe you really like this burger joint because they put fried eggs on their burgers, or maybe you love a BBQ place because they have the best sweet tea.

Photo by Kurman Communications, CC BY-SA 3.0

Guess what? You can put a fried egg on your burger at home and you can experiment with making a great sweet tea. It might seem silly, but when you’re experiencing something new, like recreating a dish you liked somewhere else, you’re helping to boost creativity.

Experiencing and trying new things can only help you in your quest to be a creative machine. In a 2012 paper from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, a group of scientists proposed that anything you experience in life can lead to creativity and flexibility as long as it makes you think differently than you have before.

They also suggested that you try to do things you do normally a different way, like maybe start writing with your other hand, or see a different genre of movie.

So sit on the opposite side of the table. Sleep on the other side of the bed. Listen to your music loudly in the car with the windows down, and sing along. Wave to the people staring in the car next to you. Even something as simple as driving a new way to get to work could help inspire you.

Halloween is right around the corner. Why not use making a costume to help broaden your creativity? Of course the easiest way to dress up for Halloween is to buy a costume, but you’re a creative person, so you can do much better! Making a your costume can even help you with your next character design.

Master Chief Copyright 343 Industries

Let’s say you want to be Halo’s Master Chief for Halloween this year. You could buy a really nice costume for the low price of $869.99 (USD), or you could get some materials and attempt build it yourself. The act of creating the costume could help to boost creativity in other projects.

Learning how to make the pieces fit together and creating a complex costume with a lot of different aspects will force you to think outside the box and get creative.

Elsa Concept Art Copyright Walt Disney Animation Studios

Or maybe dressing like Elsa from Disney’s Frozen is more your style. You could support a small Etsy shop by spending $149.99 (USD) on a handmade costume, but you can most certainly find a way to make it yourself. Maybe you’re not a master seamstress, but you can think of different ways to utilize tools that you already know how to use to be able to create something amazing.

Stepping outside of your comfort zone by thinking about how you can make a costume as intricate as Master Chief or Elsa instead of just buying one will help you begin to think creatively on your next project. You’ll learn the ways that different fabrics and textures go together or even how some areas might require sharp edges while other need a smooth curve.

The first time that you do something as simple as making a more creative dinner you might get a rush like you do when you finally get your set dressing perfect. If you can’t think of something right off the bat, check out Pinterest. There are so many creative ideas on there, it’s insane.

Be flexible. Get creative!

Has changing your routine, trying something new, or working creatively outside of the computer helped you with your designs? Comment below to let us know about it.