1. Plan Ahead
Just because you are creative doesn't mean you can skip the organization part of being productive. Planning ahead of time can help you avoid creative blocks, and waiting to judge your ideas after you finish them can keep you from exploring more alogical ideas. Creativity won't strike you on cue, but a simple mind map and a bit of creative focus can go a long way.
2. Set Weird Rules
3. Think Inside the Box
All your life you've probably heard "think outside the box". It's a bit more complicated than that, though—instead of thinking completely differently, think inside the box and build on those already-useful ideas in new ways. Christopher Peterson said it best: "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."
4. Don't Stress About Being Truly Original
If you reject anything out of a desire for true originality, you'll never get anywhere. It's all been done before, and the key isn't coming up with a truly original idea, it's knowing what to steal from other artists and how to make it new and interesting.
5. Stay Motivated with Side Projects
If you focus too hard on one project at a time, you're bound to get stuck in a creative block, or a period of low motivation. "Distracting" yourself with other, smaller projects gets you away from your big project while keeping you productive and creative. When you're done with a side project, you'll come back to your big project with a new mindset and renewed enthusiasm.
6. Change Up Your Routine
There's a reason some of the most creative people are known to be smelly and unkempt. While you shouldn't ditch hygiene altogether, sometimes switching up your morning routine can give you a creative head start you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. You may have some creative moments you hadn't experienced after a shower, getting dressed, and so on.
7. Get Some Exercise
A change of scenery is always a good idea to get a burst of creativity, but a good 30 minutes of exercise 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.
8. Stop Working Mid-Thought
If you find that you start some days with no idea where your project is going next, consider when you stop working the day before. Instead of looking for logical breaking points, always know what's coming next—that way, when you start up the next day, you can build up a bit of creative momentum before moving on to the new stuff.
9. Get Sleep
We all know how great sleep can be for your health, but it's good for your creative brain too. A Harvard researcher found that if you sleep on new ideas, you're a good chance more likely to make connections between distantly related points. If you're on a streak, there's nothing wrong with burning the midnight oil every now and then.
10. Take Time Off
