{"id":3861,"date":"2011-04-16T23:59:32","date_gmt":"2011-04-17T06:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=3861"},"modified":"2011-04-17T00:08:55","modified_gmt":"2011-04-17T07:08:55","slug":"top-10-ways-to-get-your-creative-juices-flowing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2011\/04\/16\/top-10-ways-to-get-your-creative-juices-flowing\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Ways to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Written by <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#!5792708\/top-10-ways-to-get-your-creative-juices-flowing\" target=\"_blank\">Whitson Gordon<\/a> Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/drewcoffman\/4815205632\/\">Drew Coffman<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t matter whether you&#8217;re an artist or a businessperson, we all require a little creative thinking in our work. If you find you&#8217;re getting stuck, here are some of the best ways to get those creative juices flowing again. <\/p>\n<p>&#160;<\/p>\n<h4>10. Plan Ahead<\/h4>\n<p><iframe src=\"http:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/13399691?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;color=fdbb29\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\"  style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>Just because you&#8217;re being creative doesn&#8217;t mean you can skip out on the organization part of being productive. Making plan ahead of time can help you <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215783424\/avoid-idea-plateaus-with-a-plan\">avoid creative plateaus<\/a>, and waiting to <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215668752\/judge-the-value-of-an-idea-after-you-finish\">judge your ideas after you finish them<\/a> can keep you from exploring more alogical ideas. Creativity won&#8217;t strike you on cue, but a simple <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%21398476\/boost-your-brainstorming-session-with-mindmeister\">mind map<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215577279\/embrace-organization-to-foster-creativity\">a bit of creative focus<\/a> can go a long way.<\/p>\n<h4>9. Set Some Weird Rules<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_lightbulb.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/>While we&#8217;ve been hammered with certain guidelines for running businesses and doing good work, to encourage creativity you sometimes need to <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215777145\/weird-rules-can-help-you-boost-your-creativity\">set some weirder rules<\/a>. Reward failure, but punish inaction. Create some conflict. Think contrary to what you usually hear, and mix things up to get your mind thinking in new ways. <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/hararca\/175398364\/\">Hararca<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n<h4>8. Think Inside the Box<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_boxquote2.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/>All your life you&#8217;ve probably heard &quot;think outside the box&quot;. It&#8217;s a bit more complicated than that, though\u2014instead of thinking completely differently (which is not only hard, but ignores the principles we&#8217;ve found to work), <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215684115\/before-you-think-outside-the-box-think-inside-of-it\">think inside the box<\/a> and build on those already-useful ideas in new ways. Christopher Peterson said it best: &quot;If you never venture outside the box, you will probably not be creative. But if you never get inside the box, you will certainly be stupid.&quot; <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cs.cmu.edu\/afs\/andrew\/scs\/cs\/15-463\/f07\/proj5\/www\/rys\/\">Ronit Slyper<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n<h4>7. Don&#8217;t Stress About Being Truly Original<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_steal.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" \/>If you reject anything out of a desire for true originality, you&#8217;ll never get anywhere. It&#8217;s all been done before, and the key isn&#8217;t coming up with a truly original idea, it&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215790337\/steal-like-an-artist-and-relax-nothing-is-original\">knowing what to steal<\/a> from other artists and how to make it new and interesting.<\/p>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>6. Stay Motivated with Side Projects<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_2481681915_4da8c2de93_z.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/>If you focus too hard on one project at a time, you&#8217;re bound to get stuck in a creative block, or at least a spell of low motivation. &quot;Distracting&quot; yourself with <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215760216\/stay-motivated-through-large-projects-with-smaller-ones\">other, smaller projects<\/a> gets you away from your big project while keeping you productive and creative. When you&#8217;re done with one of those, you&#8217;ll come back to your big project with a new mindset and renewed enthusiasm. <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/mwichary\/2481681915\/\">Marcin Wichary<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n<h4>5. Change Up Your Morning Routine<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_smellyunkemptworker.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" \/>There&#8217;s a reason some of the most creative people are known to be smelly and unkempt. While we aren&#8217;t about to tell you to ditch hygiene altogether, sometimes <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215620336\/creativity-may-favor-the-smelly-and-unkempt\">switching up your morning routine<\/a> can give you a creative head start you wouldn&#8217;t have gotten otherwise. Try getting up in the morning and jumping right into your work\u2014you may have some creative moments you hadn&#8217;t experienced after a shower, getting dressed, and so on. <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chaosmanorreviews.com\/open_archives\/jep_column-310.php\">Chaos Manor Reviews<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n<h4>4. Get Some Exercise<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_2010-07-30_090733.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"291\" \/>A change of scenery is always a good idea to get a burst of creativity, but a good <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215600470\/use-a-half-hour-of-exercise-to-boost-creativity-for-hours\">30 minutes of exercise<\/a> will actually boost your creativity. In fact, it boosts nearly every dimension of cognition, so exercise regularly to get your blood (and creative juices) flowing. <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/eduardom\/3914067952\/\">eduardomineo<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>&#160;<\/h4>\n<h4>3. Stop Working Mid-Thought<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/small_typing.jpg\" width=\"208\" height=\"116\" \/>If you find that you start some days with no idea where your project is going next, consider when you <em>stop<\/em> working the day before. Instead of looking for logical breaking points, <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215278762\/stop-writing-mid+sentence-to-ward-off-writers-block\">always know what&#8217;s coming next<\/a>\u2014that way, when you start up the next day, you can build up a bit of creative momentum before moving on to the new stuff.<\/p>\n<h4>2. Get Some Sleep<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawkerassets.com\/assets\/images\/17\/2011\/04\/medium_536567365_1b939f77b5_z.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"181\" \/>We all know how great sleep can be for your health, but it&#8217;s good for your creative brain too. A Harvard researcher found that if you <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215056071\">sleep on new ideas<\/a>, you&#8217;re a good chance more likely to make connections between distantly related points. If you&#8217;re on a streak, there&#8217;s nothing wrong with burning the midnight oil once in a while, but don&#8217;t neglect regular, <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%21309030\/top-10-ways-to-sleep-smarter-and-better\">quality sleep<\/a> if you want to keep that streak going. <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/deeleea\/536567365\/\">Deeleea<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n<h4>1. Know When to Take Time Off<\/h4>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; display: inline; float: left\" title=\"Top 10 Ways to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing\" alt=\"Top 10 Ways to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing\" align=\"left\" src=\"http:\/\/cache.gawker.com\/assets\/images\/lifehacker\/2011\/04\/2758571483_7a1074966a_b.jpg\" \/>We can&#8217;t all be creative 100% of the time, so don&#8217;t burn yourself out by working 24\/7\/365. Designer Stefan Sagmeister actually takes a <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215387591\/take-a-creative-sabbatical-to-stave-off-burnout\">year-long creative sabbatical<\/a> every seven years to rejuvenate his creativity. That&#8217;s obviously not in the cards for everyone, but do as much as you can\u2014<a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215112512\/self+aware-daydreamers-more-creative-study-shows\">even a little afternoon daydreaming<\/a> can go a long way. <i>Photo by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/narciss\/2758571483\/\">Kr. B.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Everyone&#8217;s got their own tricks for fostering creativity (in fact, you&#8217;ve <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215470831\/how-do-you-overcome-creative-blocks\">shared some of yours with us before<\/a>), but if you&#8217;ve got any favorites that didn&#8217;t make the list, tell us about them in the comments. And, be sure to check out <a href=\"http:\/\/lifehacker.com\/#%215791605\/how-some-creative-geniuses-work\">tips from some of the world&#8217;s creative geniuses<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n<h3>Bonus:This is the coolest thing you will ever see. There&#8217;s no denying that. [X-post from \/r\/lego]<\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" width=\"600\" height=\"368\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rWd3vgLaA_M\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Written by Whitson Gordon Photo by Drew Coffman. It doesn&#8217;t matter whether you&#8217;re an artist or a businessperson, we all require a little creative thinking in our work. If you find you&#8217;re getting stuck, here are some of the best ways to get those creative juices flowing again. &#160; 10. Plan Ahead Just because you&#8217;re [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3862,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861\/revisions\/3862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}