3 Ways to Boost Your Creativity
How long has it been since you wrote or said something new?
If you’re an expert in your field or are regularly hired to write the same types of articles, you may be well-acquainted with The Rut.
The Rut makes writing routine. You’ve written so many business profiles you can do them in your sleep—without an interview. You’ve shared your message so many times that your loyal followers have your jokes memorized.
Many successful speakers, coaches and authors build their businesses on one core message. As a result, it’s common practice to repurpose content. Rather than write new articles about their subject matter, they pull something out of their files, move a few paragraphs around and… voilà!
Repurposing content is fine—even appropriate—in small doses. Just don’t allow The Rut of easy writing make your message stale or, even worse, boring. You NEVER want to bore your audience members into clicking to another blog, closing your book, or flipping to a new article.
Keep Your Message Fresh
Today, why not take a fresh look at your message and your approach to writing? Can you use a new story to get your point across? Can you pull in current events? Can you think of a new angle to take?
If you’re deep in The Rut, you may need a boost of creativity to push you up over the edge and back into the land of free-flowing ideas. Here are three ways to boost your creativity so you can get out of The Rut.
1. Break with routine. If you’re right-handed, brush your teeth with your left hand. Take a different route to work. Go to a new restaurant and eat a dish you’ve never tried. Take yourself off autopilot and choose to notice what’s going on around you.
“When you break out of your routines, you give yourself something to look forward to. You introduce the element of surprise back into your life,” writes Mel Robbins in Stop Saying You’re Fine. “Breaking out of a routine creates a ‘butterfly effect’ in your life.” Small changes can set off a chain reaction of creative thinking.
2. Visit with people who energize and encourage you. Most of us have at least one or two very positive people in our lives who spark new ideas in us. Spend time with those people! You don’t have to talk about your writing; talk about the day, your work, their work… whatever makes you happy. Just being with these people will draw out the best in you. Have a pen and note pad handy so you can jot down any ideas, phrases or stories that come out of the conversation.
3. Take a lesson. In The Pocket Muse
Non-fiction writers can also benefit from this creativity-boosting tip. Like breaking with routine, learning something new in a hands-on class jolts you into awareness mode. Your mind loves to learn—it craves new information. When you feed your mind with new experiences it will reward you with fresh ideas.
(One more way to boost your creativity with fresh ideas and fun experiences is to attend our workshops & retreats!)
Now it’s your turn. How do you break out of The Rut? Leave a comment below and share your creativity-boosting tips.
