Being creative is crucial for any professional individual, whether you are an artist, entrepreneur, photographer, etc. We know creativity when we see it, but why is it so hard to explain?

In this article, I’ll try to breakdown the definition of creativity and list out some tips that you can try out when you are feeling in a creative rut.

What is creativity?

So how do you define creativity and what does it mean to be creative? We can define creativity as using your mind, imagination and experience to create something new, either tangible or intangible.

Some tips to be more creative

Breaking down the definition into its components, it’s about using your mind, imagination and experience to create something new.

The newly created tangible or intangible product could be a new work process, a new electric car, a new painting style, a new photograph, etc.

It’s important to remember the definition components while we dive into some of the tips.

1. Breaking a pattern

Being in a creative rut is the worst.

Photo by davisuko

If you are trying to write, you just sit there staring at a blank white screen.

If you are trying to capture a photo, you just continue looking into the viewfinder hoping some creative genius hits you like a lightning bolt.

This has happened to me too often.

One of the ways I’ve found to work around this when it happens is to break a pattern. I’ve found that we often do things over and over the same way, either physically or mentally.

Physically

If you are writing something, try moving to a different writing location to switch things up and provide new stimuli while writing. If you are photographing, try switching up the lens that you always use, or try shooting from different angles or day times than from what you normally shoot.

Mentally

If you are trying to think of something new, work backward from the idea and try to break it down into individual components.

Similar to what I am doing with this article. I’m taking the definition of creativity, breaking it into individual components, then analyzing each component.

2. Take time for thinking

When was the last time you just sat in a quiet room and just thought?

Nowadays, I look to my left and see my laptop, I look in front of me and I see my PC desktop, I look to my right and I see my cell phone, if I look behind me I see my TV.

We are surrounded by distractions constantly.

Bill Gates is a proponent of “think weeks,” in which he takes a whole week off just to think about new ideas and creative ways to do things. You don’t have to do this necessarily, but even going for a walk in nature, spending a day outside unplugged from digital society, has been shown to produce positive effects.

3. Continued learning

Remember how I mentioned creativity is using your mind, imagination, and experience to create something new? Well, if you don’t continue learning and growing, then you will hit a ceiling on the experiences and growth of your mind.

Creativity comes from combining new ideas or building ideas on one another. If you do not have a foundation of ideas or experiences to choose from, you will be limited in your creative potential.

Continue to take workshops, to watch videos, to read articles from quality resources such as Photofocus and continue to grow both in body and mind.

Is there a tip that you like to follow? Or are you going to try one of these tips? Either way, let me know by leaving a comment down below.