We all want to be creative. We want to inspire creativity in our students. We want to teach material in creative ways that get students engaged and excited (without reinventing the wheel, of course!). But sometimes, creative just isn’t happening. When you can’t think of anything new, or anything that you deem ‘creative’ or ‘more interesting’ than the basics, it can be frustrating. I so often hear the advice to ‘just let it happen’. Which is, of course, even more frustrating! It isn’t always just that easy!
The handy infographic below details some simple ideas to stimulate creativity. It encourages you to do them every day. I see the idea of the graphic as sort of a mindset refresh – train yourself to be creative, and be positive about it, and you’ll be more creative. Does it work? Even if you’re a skeptic, following the ideas in the graphic will get you thinking in new ways, and many of the items will get you out of your typical thinking patterns, which should get your brain churning!
27 Ideas To Stimulate Creativity
Repeat these every day!
- Remind yourself, “I am a creative person”
- Play
- Go for a walk
- Move your eyes
- Take breaks and enjoy yourself
- Congratulate yourself when you do something well
- Estimate time, distance, and currency exchanges
- Take a route that is new to you
- Look for images in mosaics, patterns, textures, and clouds
- Try something you’ve never done before
- Do a creative exercise
- Start a collection
- Watch a Sci-Fi or Fantasy film
- Change the way you do “routine” tasks
- Use a colour you don’t like
- Think about how they invented the equipment you use
- Make a list of ten things you think are impossible, and find one way that each might be possible
- For every bad thing that happens, remind yourself of three good things that have happened
- Read something new
- Make friends with people on the other side of the world
- Connect a sport with your work
- When you have a new idea, make note of it. Check back later to see if you made it happen
- Try a food that you’ve never tried before
- Talk to parents and grandparents and listen to their stories
- Give an incorrect answer to a question
- Find links between people, things, ideas, or facts
- Ask children how to do something and observe their creativity
