HOW TO GET OUT OF THE CREATIVITY RUT

Two weekends back as we welcomed 2021, I was chatting with a friend who is a creative writer. During the course of our chat she mentioned how the pandemic has taken a toll on her ability to think more creatively. She said that creative people thrive on new experiences, this includes visiting new places, meeting new people and cultivating new hobbies. The current pandemic has bought life as she knew it to a standstill. This got me thinking, how does one get out of the creativity rut?
One interesting idea which has always appealed to me is that we can train ourselves to be more creative. That’s when I decided, it’s time to come up a cheat sheet on getting out of the creativity rut in 2021:

1) Cultivate new experiences (virtually): One thing this pandemic has taught us is that your office, your gym, social occasions like birthdays and weddings and even your hobbies can all move to a virtual space. Who would have thought! You can visit museums, art galleries, join discussion groups with other interesting people doing creative work, brainstorm and get some great ideas and feedback too.
2) Set aside some creative time in your calendar: The only way you can get better at writing or designing or at any creative pursuit is by doing some of it every day. Fix a time slot and just focus on getting that version 1 started.
3) Create your personal inspiration gallery: Keep a mood board, virtual gallery or even a slam book of ideas you have liked. An inspiration gallery is a great way to assimilate things you found interesting and they are always a great reference point to browse through and get those creative juices flowing.
4) Take a walk or run: Exercise is known to be an elixir for most things, why should creativity be far behind! It will only help clear your head but you will be surprised at what a calm and relaxed mind can creatively do.
5) Say goodbye to social media distractions (temporarily): The internet can be a time suck and a huge distraction when you are trying to do some deep work. Shut off your phone and mute all social media notifications and log off from the internet for a while. Trust me the returns will be worth it.