5 Practical Ways To Encourage Your Creativity

The 1 before the 1. Find What Works For You

Einstein worked with a cluttered desk and did a bunch of awesome, creative stuff in his field. Martha Stewart is a self-proclaimed master of organization, and has also done a bunch of creative, awesome stuff in her field.
All the ideas here are just that: ideas! You've gotta find what works best for you and implement it. :)

1. Creative Space

If I am writing, I love a cozy corner with a blanket and a bottle of water. Weird, I know, but it works. If I'm doing some kind of craft, I like an open countertop, desk, or table with a wide array of organized supplies handy. I have also noticed that having a candle burning or rain outside the window or just a desk fan running can provide that calming presence in the room so conducive to creativity. Whatever it is that you find best, just put a little thought into finding/making a space that will be easy for you to be creative in.

2. Music

Music is the universal language and everyone has some kind of music that will just put them in the mood! Maybe for you it's jazz or country or show tunes or some recordings of french-tropical-instrumental-with-tubas. Whatever it is, grab your headphones or turn on your radio for some music. If you find it too distracting to work with, try listening to a song before you work, closing your eyes and enjoying it and then turning off the sound and getting down to business. You might be surprised how effective it is! :)

3. Inspiration

Don't come empty handed! Collect things that inspire you. Pictures, magazines, music, video, sound recordings-whatever you run across and feel inspired by, make a note or find some way to reference it later when you are sitting down to create. Pinterest is a great way to do this, but good old notebooks and binders and post it notes are just as effective. Go to museums, look at art. Read books that you enjoy. Talk to people in your niche about creative things that you admire.

4. Time

Make some space in your schedule for creative time. If you sit down to write your book and there's a list about ten miles long in the back of your brain full of little things like putting away your shoes and writing out the grocery list and watering your plant, you're not going to be very focused. Take ten minutes and take care of all those little things before you begin. If it's not something you want to do now, write down a time that you will plan on doing it later. For example, just make a note to call your friend back at five thirty this evening instead of letting it float in your brain as something you need to do. Clear your mind of clutter.

5. Just do it!

This one is-hands down-the most important. So many wannabe artists wander around waiting for the clouds to part and some mythical lightning bolt of inspiration to strike them on the noggin and force them to create incredible art. That's not gonna happen, and that's not you! You're not going to write a bestseller if you don't break out the notepad and write some words. You're not going to paint anything at all if you don't wet the canvas. Give yourself permission to make bad art. It's part of the process. If the first try doesn't turn out, ditch it and start over. In the words of Maya Angelou:

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,’.... And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.”
― Maya Angelou

And lastly: You Do You!