Creativity is an essential part of our lives, but sometimes, we find ourselves lacking. Why is that? Well, it might have something to do with our bad habits. I don’t know about you, but I often found myself in the same rut. I woke up and got on my phone. Then I worked 9 hours. Then, after my work day, I would jump on my phone again and scroll through social media. After that, it’s dinner time while watching a show. Then I went to bed and wake up next morning only to do the same thing all over again. Nothing very stimulating about that routine, right? Actually, sometimes it can feel kind of draining, huh? That’s why I’m slowly transitioning into a different life-style. In any case, it’s no wonder we often find ourselves uninspired and unmotivated. But guys, there is hope. I’ve been trying different things this summer and I’ve found different ways to help you press your reset button. In this post, I’ll be sharing 5 activities to help spark your creativity. These are ways to help you disconnect from your bad habits and reconnect with yourself. Who knows? You may even discover a hobby. Without any further ado, here are 5 activities to help spark your creativity.

1.- WORK WITH YOUR HANDS

You heard me: get down and dirty while cooking, baking, gardening or creating pottery. You can also dedicate yourself to cleaner activities, such as knitting, sowing, painting or drawing. Take up any activity that gets you working with your hands and you end up creating something. It doesn’t have to be something good. The idea is to start and finish something you made with your own hands. There’s something very grounding and enriching about creating something from scratch. To me, it can be a form of meditation. Enjoy the process, be proud of yourself, no matter the result.

If you can, I highly suggest for you to dedicate yourself 100% to the activity you chose. No music or podcast. No background TV show. Feel what you’re doing. Concentrate on it. Smell whatever you’re cooking. Feel the texture of whatever you’re knitting. Smell the earth you are moving around. Whatever it is, be present. Feel it. Feel it all.

2.- GO FOR A WALK IN NATURE

Escape wherever you can. Maybe it’s a park, maybe it’s a short trail along a small forest. Maybe it’s a three-day-long hiking trail up on a mountain. Whatever you chose, use this chance to reconnect with nature. Again, I suggest you don’t multitask here. No music, no podcasts. Listen to nature. Hear the wind rustling through the trees. Listen to the birds. Smell the fresh air. Listen to the insects. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

3.- WRITE YOUR MORNING PAGES

What are morning pages, you may ask? They are three handwritten pages which, as their name clearly indicates, you write in the morning, not long after waking up, before starting your day. On these pages, you write down your thoughts, worries and ideas. Whatever comes to mind, you write it down. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trascendental epiphany or if it’s your shopping list. If it’s currently taking up space in your mind, you need to write it down. These pages don’t have to be pretty. Don’t fuss over your penmanship. Don’t worry about grammar, don’t worry if it doesn’t make sense. Sometimes you might read over your old morning pages and they won’t make sense to you. They don’t have to. The idea is to get rid of all the “noise” in your head so that you can face your day fresh and ready for your creative process. Once you “dump” all of your thoughts and worries into your morning pages, the idea is that you are ready for your creative process to begin and you can dedicate yourself more fully to whatever you set your mind to. This idea comes from Julia Cameron’s book, “The Artist’s Way”, which I highly recommend.

4.- BOARD GAME NIGHT

How long has it been since you last played board games? Do you even have a deck of cards at home? No? You should! Play chess with your partner. Play Catan with your family or Monopoly with your flat mates. Live alone and need to social distance? How about game nigh over zoom with your friends? Board games are fun, tactile and they stimulate our minds in different ways. Plus, I feel the human interaction while playing these games is good for the soul. It’s nice to communicate without likes and GIFs for a change, right?

Nothing against video games but board games just hit differently and I feel like they’re not as beloved anymore. I feel like board games need to make a comeback, so here’s my small contribution for them to become more popular once again.

5.- DECLUTTER, CLEAN AND ORGANIZE YOUR PERSONAL SPACE

I know, I know. This one doesn’t sound as fun, does it? But it’s an incredibly useful activity to stimulate your creativity. I’m not kidding. Take a look at all your possessions. Is there anything that is no longer serving you? Donate it, sell it, throw it away. Clean your space. Maybe open a window while you do it. Reorganize anything that needs reorganizing. Make it so that all your belongings have a place where they belong in your home, as Marie Kondo says in “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”.

Clutter in your space means clutter in your mind. So make sure you set dates to reevaluate everything you have. As we grow, we change. Some things that brought us joy a few years ago may no longer do so. They might even be the reason you feel stuck. Get rid of it and feel the weight from your unwanted possessions be lifted from your shoulders.

These are 5 activities that have worked for me when I feel stuck in a negative rut. They help me clear my head and get in a better mood. I hope these activities can help you too. Practice these activities to spark your creativity. They’re tools to reboot your body and mind. i hope they are as helpful to you as they are to me. If you have any other activity you do to hit your own reset button, feel free to share on my Instagram or Twitter.