Seven Non-Writing Tips For Boosting Your Creativity in 2021
By: Julie Artz
Tags: Creativity, Writing, New Year Resolution, Creativity Tips, Writing Tips

Seven Non-Writing Tips For Boosting Your Creativity in 2021

Many writers are coming off the creative high of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). But how do you sustain that level of creative energy through the dark days of winter, the busy holiday season, and beyond? The Writing Cooperative has featured some great writing tips this month, including You Can Cure Writer’s Block by Pretending to Text Your Friends and Blocked Writers, You Have a Typing Problem. But I have a few suggestions for a few creativity boosters to try when you’re not sitting at your desk as well.

Boost your creativity in 2021!

Tip #1: Create Time

One of the best things I’ve done this year to make more time for creativity is cultivating efficiency elsewhere in my life. For me, reducing or streamlining administrative tasks increases creativity and reduces stress! Ask your teenager to help with the laundry or other household chores. Do your social media posts for the week while waiting in line at the pharmacy. Use the crockpot during the week to make dinner prep easier. Anything you do to create more time will give you extra minutes to spend on your creative work.

Tip #2: Add a Meditation Practice to Find Flow

Whole books have been written on how to find creative flow — it’s the Holy Grail for creatives. Adding a ten-minute daily meditation routine to my schedule has made slipping into the writerly flow that much easier when I sit down at my desk. It clears the mind of distractions and worries, the two biggest flow-thiefs out there. Although many folks meditate by sitting quietly and focusing on their breath, there are many great meditation apps out there to support you as you build your meditation practice.

Tip #3: Declutter Your Writing Space

Once you’ve decluttered your mind with meditation, consider ways to declutter your physical space as well. Come up with a better system for all those random sticky notes on your desk. Get rid of the dried-out pens and highlighters that are overflowing from your pencil jar. Sort through the pile of papers, books, and unread magazines that’s been on your desk for months. Once those distractions are gone, creativity will flourish in the space that remains.

Tip #4: Make Time to Play

Sometimes more time butt-in-chair isn’t the answer to creative challenges. Refilling the creative cup is important as well. Even if you just spend five minutes taking a dance break or ducking outside to throw a snowball, accessing the joy of play will rejuvenate your creativity. And according to Harvard a little laughter can help relieve stress, boost the immune system, and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Tip #5: Get Outside and Move Your Body

As a kinesthetic learner, I know I retain information better when I’m in motion. Whether that’s hand-writing notes as I listen or pacing the room as I brainstorm with clients, the movement helps my creative flow. Even if you’re not kinesthetic like I am, try getting outside for a few minutes of quiet contemplation or a quick walk to see if the movement breaks through the blockage that’s causing frustration.

Tip #6: Read More, Read Widely

Some writers make the mistake of reading only books, articles, or essays in their preferred format or genre. But branching out can spark all kinds of new ideas. Do you write humorous memoir? Check out how humor is used in sci-fi or fantasy. Do you write essays on business topics? Take a look at some recent short stories to see what you can learn about pacing in that shorter format? Write adult romance? Read some middle grade and remember the sweet awkwardness of first love. You never know what is going to inspire your next story idea — the more you read, the larger the pool of creative energy available for you to draw from for your next project.

Tip #7: Look Up!

So much of writing is about looking inward — we writers are consummate navel-gazers, after all. But sometimes looking up and out can give us a new perspective on our story, our world, and ourselves. Wherever you are, look upward. Study the cracks in the plaster or the bare tree branches above your head. Not only will it give your eyes a rest by changing up your focal distance, but it might give you a different view on your story as well.

What tips have helped you keep the creative spark alive? I’d love to hear about them in the comments. Best of luck with your creative projects in the new year and beyond!

Julie Artz is a writer, editor, and book coach living in Redmond, Washington. For more tips on living a more joyful writing life, follow Julie on Instagram.