The week right after Christmas and New Year can be quite the slump because it’s hard to come back to work right after taking a much-needed break. And because we’re constantly on a loop of eating, sleeping and working these days thanks to Corona, we’re more likely to burn out much faster than we intend to. So how does one prevent burn out and protect one’s creative energy? Scroll on to see how you can continue to stay creative this 2022.
Here are 18 tips to staying creative in the new year:
1) Take a break from work
It’s hard to be creative when you’re constantly busy. Take some time away from your desk/job and tune out all the noise.
2) Build a vision board
Get on Pinterest and put together a mish-mash board of anything and everything that inspires you. When you review it in a month or two it might give you clarity on where your current likes are.
3) Travel as much as you can
Nothing can inspire one much like travelling. New places, new people, different food and all-together different vibe can be fodder for your mind. If you haven’t tried this already or experienced this yet, make sure you book a ticket to somewhere in the new year.
4) Maintain a journal of ideas
Write down even the tiniest of an idea, even if you think it’s stupid and even if you think people might mock you for it. This diary is for your eyes only and it might spark some joy and reignite your creativity. Make lists because making a list will help you collate your thoughts and ideas in an effective way.
5) Experiment with your likes and dislikes
Reach outside of your comfort zone every now and then because that is where the magic is waiting to happen. Things you might have disliked might turn into things you could love over time. Challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone.
6) Try and be more social
Being social builds confidence plus you learn so much from a simple conversation with people. You pick up on nuances and how some people live, it might impact you to creatively strive towards something new.
7) Pick up a new skill
Learn something new, it’s never too late, you never know how and when it could turn your life around and even inspire you along the way.
8) Hang out with creative people
Nothing like a stimulating conversation or debate to get those creative juices flowing.
9) Break your routine
Your routine could be keeping you in a rut mixing things up every now and then can be the most rewarding and stimulating exercise for your mind.
10) Collaborate with others
Collaborating with others immediately opens the door to bouncing off ideas. You may not even agree with one another but this allows you the room to grow a little and find ways to compromise and work out a vision that makes everyone happy. It also teaches you patience which is always a great thing to learn.
11) Meditate
Introduce a little peace and quiet to your life. Give yourself 15 minutes a day if not more to gather your thoughts. This will allow you to centre yourself and access your thoughts in a more effective manner.
12) Get feedback from your colleagues
Sometimes asking your friends and colleagues about how they think of you can really be helpful. It’s hard to objectively view one’s way of being and it’s only natural for them to have opinions on the way you function. Ask them for their honest opinions and say you’ll try your hardest to not be offended and then really try to not be offended. View this feedback as a means to only better yourself and take out the roadblocks that stand in your way.
13) Listen to music
Listening to music can really alleviate pain and or anxiety. Sometimes I’ll just go take a shower and have the music playing, I won’t even know when I’ve begun to dance like a crazy person and before you know it I’m in a great mood.
14) Watch movies/shows you wouldn’t normally watch
Just to spice things up I sometimes watch movies and shows in other languages and I quickly realise how immersed I get in them and of course, some you may not enjoy but it’s wonderful to see how different cultures and countries weave stories.
15) Declutter your space
Clutter in your space is reflective of one’s mind space. Clear up things you don’t need or things that don’t spark joy for you anymore and watch how your mind seamlessly opens up to the world of possibilities.
16) Go to theatres, museums, galleries & exhibitions
Go experience random things you wouldn’t normally do. Go watch a theatre show, maybe take a friend to a museum, go off to art galleries and even exhibitions who knows if being exposed to art in some form allows you to access your creative side.
17) Be curious
Let go of the fear and question things that people tend to blindly accept about life. Try to understand what your thoughts really are on important subjects.
18) Get physical
Go dancing, go work out, go for a run, have sex; doing any of these will help you blow off steam and get those happy endorphins going that one needs to be creative.
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