Being in the same environment all the time can become draining. Especially when you’re working every day. This can become really problematic when you’re required to start a project or think of ideas for your company. Surprisingly, there are various ways our creativity can be hindered without us knowing. Some people have a restrictive work environment, whereas others have a can hinder their own abilities based on their decisions or mindset. Because of this, creativity can sometimes feel like something that is unobtainable unless you’re born as a creative. Yet, this isn’t the case at all, and we will be covering different ways to enhance this.
Understanding creativity
The majority of us just associate creativity with people who work in an art related field, such as dance or fine art. However, creativity is required in almost every field. Businesses require innovative ideas to sell products, even developing medicine can require a doctor to use an unconventional method. This means regardless of what your career path is, having creativity is a beneficial skill set. Even so, developing it can require changes in how you think and approach ideas. It isn’t just something that you’re born with. It can be improved along with your skills and knowledge within your career too. Moreover, there are different way’s creativity can be expressed. For instance, you can develop o ideas, by building on ideas, exploring new ones or even combining different concepts. Although, there are tons of different ways it can be restricted. In order to enhance your creativity, you need to feel more focused and have a space where you’re comfortable enough to share your ideas.
Outdoors/New environment
One of the best ways to improve your creativity is by going outside. Besides, helping you with ideas, taking a short walk in the park can be therapeutic as it can help you de-stress and relax. Studies into the outdoors and creativity have supported this. Just taking a 25-minute walk in the park can help boost cognitive functioning, lower stress and promote creativity. Researchers had one group of participants complete a creativity test before going on a wilderness trip to Maine, Alaska or Colorado for 4-6 days. The other group completed the test during their trip. The participants who completed the test scored better than those who did it before the trip. Not only did they score better, but they outperformed them by 50%. This shows us how significant going outdoors is. Furthermore, it helps us understand another mind state we can enter to help us improve our creativity.
Soft Fascination and Taking Breaks
One of the reasons why going outdoors can improve our creativity is because it puts us into a state called soft fascination. This mind state is essentially what you experience when you’re calm and immersed in nature. You become more introspective, but you’re still engaged with your environment. Many researchers have found that this state can be very restorative on the brain, especially if you’ve been focusing for a long period of time.
Not only does this show us how important it is to find a way to relax, but it shows us how beneficial taking breaks can be for our mind. Trying to think of ideas can become very draining, this is why you should take frequent breaks away from your work environment. It doesn’t have to always be nature as well. You can go to a local café or a restaurant. It’s important to let your mind rest, or you will become burnt out.
Find ways you can relax at home
We have established that taking breaks are important for improving cognition and reducing stress. But what about for situations where you have to complete work at home or for students who don’t have access to a library. It can be important to create a small space where you can completely de-stress. For this you should either try going to an area in your house where you feel the most comfortable or make an area for you to take long breaks. You can find ways to improve the comfort of your room by buying products like scented candles or a yoga mat for you to feel more comfortable during your breaks. As for others, this could be as simple as having a nap, watching a show or even having a bath.
Use your surroundings
It can be easy to forget how many areas there are where you can get inspiration. Museums, restaurants or even architecture. For many creative ideas, it requires you to think unconventionally. One way to do this is by applying ideas from things you wouldn’t normally use into your field. This can’t work with every single thing, but by becoming more open-minded and looking at ideas from a different perspective, it can become much easier to think of something that is unique. Ways you can do this are by going to an environment that inspires you personally. Even visiting an area that you’ve never been to before will help you think of something. Constantly being exposed to the unfamiliar will develop your curiosity and give you more information to work with.
Another great way to do this is by travelling. A study had found that travelling abroad can make you more creative. Researchers found that those who lived abroad were more creative and the more countries they had lived in, the higher their creativity was. This can be justified when we think about how travelling impacts you. Being in a new country exposes you to a completely different environment. The culture, geography and languages are all different. Because of this, the person travelling gains a wider perspective than they had before.
Start a new hobby
Beginning a hobby can help benefit your career in loads of ways. Having a hobby gives you a platform to fully express yourself. You can be in a place where you don’t have to filter your ideas. This can help you become more innovative because improving within a hobby requires you to work better spontaneously. Being in a space where you are unfamiliar with the environment can help you build confidence because you will be challenging yourself. You will become more disciplined and stress tolerant as a result. Additionally, you can use your knowledge from your new hobby to apply it to your main field. Even if it isn’t just for creativity. Imagine if a football coach started playing chess. Both fields require strategy but in different ways, the coach can learn how to coordinate his team better as a result.