Free writing is where you start writing anything and continue writing as the words and ideas flow. At first, it may be silly nonsense, but you’ll be surprised how fast your comments and ideas can merge into something truly inspired.
Carry a notebook – Two things happen by jotting down ideas as soon as they appear. First, you don’t forget your thoughts because you’ve got a written record. Second, writing them down tells your subconscious you want ideas, encouraging them to give you even more.
Make lists – The very act of writing things down frees up your mind to be more creative.
Take breaks from work – Get up, walk around, play 5 minutes of hopscotch – whatever. Just take a breather.
Get up and go – Leave your computer at home, take your notebook, and leave the office. Go anywhere – a park, the mall, a coffee shop, a museum – get out, get away and soak up some different surroundings.
Get near water, especially if it’s moving – Studies show that it floods you with negative ions, making you feel good and boosting your creativity. Remember how you get some of your best ideas in the shower? That’s part of the reason why.
Talk nice to yourself – Positive self-talk about creativity will produce more ideas. Beating yourself up for being a dummy won’t.
Have caffeine – If you don’t usually drink caffeine, one cup of coffee or tea can remarkably affect your thinking.
Clean off your desk – Nothing stifles creativity like a messy, cluttered desk.
Read something different – Read an article on a topic you know nothing about, a page out of the dictionary, a chapter out of a random book, etc. Learning outside the box can trigger many new ideas for you.
Practice writing or bouncing a ball with your non-dominant hand – This can help activate the connection between the two sides of your brain.
Be open to new ideas – We often dismiss an idea before giving it a chance. Even if you think it’s a bad idea, try playing devil’s advocate and find out why it’s a good idea – you might be surprised.
Collaborate and mastermind – Two heads are better than one, and five are better than 2. Form a mastermind group, present a problem, and let the ideas flow. The only rule is: No one shoots down an idea.
Sleep on it – Give your subconscious your problem or need: “I need three new blog post ideas by tomorrow morning.” Then let it go and see what your subconscious finds for you.
Make friends with mistakes – When you goof up or make the wrong decision, realize it’s not the end of the world. It’s simply something that didn’t work at the moment. This allows your creativity to continue to flow.
Purposely break the rules – Don’t break the big ones like “do not steal,” but do break the little ones like “this is what a blog post / new product/video should look like.”
Be you – Don’t worry about what others might think because no great idea is without naysayers anyway. If everyone thinks your idea is excellent, then it’s probably not.
One last tip: Ask “Why?” and “Why not?” a lot. We often accept things as they are when there could be a whopper of an idea just staring us in the face the whole time.
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