How to Bring Creativity into Your Everyday Life

Someone recently reached out to me as a creative authority and asked how a person can bring more creativity into their daily life. They figured that since I work as an illustrator, I might have ideas that go beyond a paint night where you drink wine and paint a sunset without thinking too deeply about composition or colour theory. There is nothing wrong with paint nights, but if you want something that genuinely sparks creative energy, you often need something a little more intentional than a colouring book or paint-by-numbers.

Defining Creativity

Creativity exists far beyond the arts. A common definition goes something like: The ability to generate new and valuable ideas, solutions, or original works using imagination.This doesnt have to be making a work of art it can look like reorganizing your bookshelf so that it's coded, inventing a new cocktail recipe, trying a new route to work, or combining existing clothes to make a fresh look. It all counts.

The challenge is figuring out what creativity looks like and means to you and how to insert it into your life in a thoughtful, sustainable way. Because it's not as simple as buying it from the store, you will have to put yourself in situations that spark it or intentionally build habits around curiosity and experimentation.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can infuse creativity into your everyday life.

1. Learn Something New

Trying something new is one of the fastest pathways to creative thinking. If you are a writer, try photography. If you are a sculptor, try crocheting. If you work in accounting, try woodworking. If you work in customer service, take a pottery class. Your existing life experience will influence how you approach something new, and sometimes you will surprise yourself by seeing solutions others might miss.

There is math involved with woodworking, which is an advantage for you as an accountant. Photography is about telling stories; again, as a writer, this would be something second nature to you. It is all cross-pollination. Those examples were pulled randomly out of my mind; I’m not suggesting that you find new things that you will be good at due to your day job, but I guess that wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Don’t try to start something new by doing an ambitious project; this is the road to feeling discouraged by the unforeseen challenges. Start small. Sometimes all you need is a simple, playful experiment. One night when my kids were little, I made spaghetti, and everyone had to eat it with random utensils. One person got tongs. One got a giant spoon. Another got a roll of tin foil. Creativity can start with something that small. Or buy a plant and learn how to keep it alive, this is what I have done, and it has turned into somewhat of an addiction. Remember you are going to face some failures, like watering your plants TOO much, who knew. Take that as an opportunity to learn. You can find all the answers on the interwebs, but why not try another way, find a book from the library, find someone who loves plants, and they will help you, who knows, maybe you will find a new friend too. Bonus!

2. Unplug with Intention

We are constantly bombarded with information designed to keep us glued to our devices. To engage your creative thinking, you need moments when your brain is not being fed content on demand. Numerous articles, podcasts, and YouTube videos explain the connection between boredom to creativity. Because we are constantly stimulating our mind every moment of our consciousness, we have no time for our mind to wander, no time to take in the stillness our sounds of our surroundings. I think if injecting creativity into your life is important, you should learn more about these connections. But the important thing is to disconnect from that immediate stimulation. If you like music or have Spotify, go to a music store and get something to take home to listen to start to finish. Better yet, you can ask the person working there for a recommendation. This experience will not be motivated to keep you attached to your device, and will expand your horizons. And when you discover something great, share it with someone.

3. Connect with People

For me, this one supercharges my own creativity, and more so, the desire to go to my studio and create something. There is an undescribable energy that happens when you connect with people about creating something. For me, the important thing is finding those people with energy who get you pumped to create. Now, for those of you who do not make art, I think connecting with people who are outside of your industry and listening and learning from them would work just as well. Engaging in respectful debate on ideas and opinions to ultimately see the world through another person's perspective.

Curiosity attracts creativity.

4. Share What You Know

When you connect with people, share what you know. Talk about your work. Teach someone a skill. If you have never taught someone, you will discover that its harder than you think. I have had the pleasure of teaching Colour Theory in Continuing Education at AUArts last year. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I have never studied colour theory before; I have learned it through trial and error over the last 20 years. So not only did I have to teach, which I had never done before, but I also had to do it in a subject I had never learned. Let me tell you, this was a stressful 8 weeks, but my biggest takeaway was that I learned the subject WAAAY more than if I were to just learn it for myself. So if you want to learn something, learn it and then try to teach it to someone else. How would you teach that? There is a method called BOPPPS, which is a great framework on how to design a lesson, and I would highly recommend it if you intend to teach. However, I guess you don’t just want to provide information unsolicited, it might come across as being a know-it-all, or patronizing. Maybe host a dinner party where everyone has to come prepared with a slide show to teach the group something, but have a theme.

5. Make Something

This may be obvious, but it needs to be said. Buy a sketchbook and start drawing. Do visual journaling. Write a page a day. Making something is still, in my opinion, the easiest way to inject creativity into your daily routine. If you stick with it long enough, you will have a visual or written record of your life to look back on and reflect.

6. Make It For You

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you are doing it for you. Not for the internet. Not for validation. You do not need to cure world hunger with your drawings. This type of creativity is meant to bring you satisfaction through the act of doing.

External validation is a cup with a hole in it; you can try and fill it, but you will always be left in search of more.

Try these approaches and see which works best for you. The important thing is to stay curious, allow boredom into your life, try new things, and be consistent. As an artist, I am constantly following my curiosity. As challenging as being a creative is, I love the simple joys that it brings into my life, like the laughter as a result of eating spaghetti with a pair of tongs.