10 Ways to Free Your Creativity Infographic

Ten Surprising, Shocking and Strange Ways to Free Your Creativity. Seventy five percent of people think they’re not living up to their creative potential. [1] Sixty percent of CEOs named creativity as the most important leadership quality. [2] Anyone can be creative. You don’t have to come up with brand new ideas, just make new connections between existing things. Unconscious restrictions, preconceptions and fear prevent your brain from working creativity. So here are ten unusual ways to free your mind and unlock your creativity. One. Question everything. You get ideas when you ask yourself simple questions. The most important of the questions is just, What if. [3] Question everything around you and let your mind wander with the answers. They can lead to interesting places. Two. Doodle. Doodling activates neurological networks in your brain, encouraging you to think more creatively as well as increasing memory function, according to research. [4] [5] Keep a notepad to hand for drawing on while you’re thinking, and encourage others to do the same in meetings. Three. Play. Google have built their head office around the idea that play encourages creativity, and they’re right. Having fun switches the brain into an ideal mode for creative and insightful thought. Four. Take mini breaks. Give your brain a break. Whether a game of Candy Crush or planning your weekend, little mental holidays keep your brain from getting overworked, which kills creativity. [7] [8] Five. Dim the lights. Research has shown that darkness creates a feeling of being free from constraints and a risky, explorative processing style. [9] In other words, being less visible makes you feel free to take risks. Six. Work tired. Working when you are physically tired can encourage your easily distracted mind to wander off into new ideas. Plan your creative tasks for your low energy times of day. [10] Seven. Redecorate. Different studies have shown that the colors blue and green promote creative thought.[11] [12] Perhaps the thoughts of grass and sky make you feel free from boundaries. If you can’t redecorate your office, try adding some blue and green to your own workspace. Eight. Move. Even better, actually get outside. Exercise stimulates creativity, and getting away from literal walls could help remove your mental ones. [13] Go for a walk if you’re hunting for ideas, or have walking meetings instead of sitting in the boardroom. Nine. Get some noise. Silence helps you concentrate and loud noise is distracting, but moderate background noise is ideal for creative thinking. The comfortable murmur of a coffee house is even available online at Coffitivity. [14] Ten. Have a wee drink. Don’t drink the coffee though. Research shows that while caffeine improves focus, a couple of alcoholic drinks are the thing for increasing creative performance, by reducing inhibitions. [15]
Careful though, it also reduces concentration. So take this advice in moderation. [16]

Sources
Rupal Parekh, ‘Global Study: 75% of People Think They’re Not Living Up to Creative Potential’ at: http://adage.com/article/news/-study-75-living-creative-potential/234302/ (23 April 2012).
Austin Carr, ‘The most Important Leadership Quality for CEOS. Creativity’ at: http://fastcompany.com/1648943/most-important-leadership-quality-ceos-creativity (accessed 16 February 2015).
Neil Gaiman, ‘Where Do You Get Your Ideas.’ at: http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/Essays/Essays_By_Neil_Gaiman/Where_do_you_ get_your_ideas%3F (accessed 16 February 2015).
Lisa Evans, ‘How Doodling Can Make You More Successful’ at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232273 (19 March 2014).
Gwen Moran, ‘Want More Creative and Productive Employees. Let Them Goof Off’ at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226919 (19 June 2013).
John Kounious Mark Beeman, ‘The Aha. Moment: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight’, Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 18 No.4 (August 2009) p210.
Kate Taylor, ‘How to Be More Creative Wherever You Work’ at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232840 (4 April 2014).
Boland Jones, ’10 Tips for Unleashing Your Creativity at Work at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232656 (1 April 2014).
Anna Steidle and Lioba Werth, ‘Freedom From Constraints: Darkness and Dim Illumination Promote Creativity’, Journal of Environmental Psychology, Vol. 35 (September 2013) pp67- 80.
Belle Beth Cooper, ’10 Surprising Ways to Transform Your Creative Thinking’ at: http://www.fastcompany.com/3028465/work-smart/10-surprising-ways-to-transform-your- creative-thinking (2 April 2014).
R Mohta and RJ Zhu, ‘Blue or Red. Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances’, Science, Vol. 323 No. 5918 (February 2009) pp 1226-1229.
S Lichtenfeld, AJ Elliot, MA Maier and R Pekrun, ‘Fertile Green: Green Facilitates Creative Performance’, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol 38 No.6 (June 2012) pp 784- 797.
Ben Waber, ’12,000 Steps to Being More Creative at Work at: http://

Share this post