I don’t know about you, but when I have too much going on in my mind, I suffer from the mental “fuzzies.” It’s like having dust bunnies in the head, the kind you get under the bed when you forget to sweep it out.

But it’s more than that. In a lot of ways, your mind is like a closet that you shove all kinds of things (thoughts) into and forget they’re there, only to have them remind you of their presence when you have to open the door to get something else out.

I’m convinced, based on my own experience that creativity comes best with a clear mind. So taking the time to declutter mentally as well as physically is a good way to, well, create more access to your creative center. (I’m no psychologist though, so take whatever I say here to be my personal experiences, not professional advice.)

So if you’re not feeling as creative as you’d like to, here are a few of my favorite ways to clear the mental cobwebs and make room for new ideas.

1. Do something physical.

You know, that dreaded “E” word…
Yes, I’m talking about exercise. I never would have believed that exercising can clear your mind until I joined a gym and started working out every day. Even if I only go in for 20 minutes and walk on the treadmill, it leaves me feeling clearer and cleaner bot mentally and physically and I come home ready to sit down and write for the rest of the day.

2. Organize your space.

When your space is organized, it’s much easier to organize your thoughts as well. If you’re feeling mentally cluttered because there are already too many thoughts taking up room in your head, then having to deal with physical clutter only makes it worse. Take some time either at the beginning or the end of each day to organize your space, especially your work space, and you will find that your creative energy flows more smoothly when it doesn’t have to navigate piles of clutter and unfinished work.

3. Organize your thoughts.

Just as you organize your space, you can also organize your thoughts. I realize that doesn’t sound very inspirational, or even creative to suggest making lists and writing things down but it really does help. If you can journal or even keep a list of the things you have to do, the things you’d like to do, and the ideas you come up with during the day it makes it much easier to access the mental energy needed to tackle each item on the list at the appropriate time.

4. Focus on one thing at a time.

There’s nothing more mentally tiring than trying to juggle several projects at once. Focusing on one project at a time lets you focus all your creative energy on that work so that you can create to the best of your ability.

If you must work on more than one thing during the day (and we all do to some degree) make sure that you give yourself enough of a break in between so that you approach each project with a clear mind.

5. Make some “Me time” for yourself.

Speaking of taking a break, make sure you always take some “me time” during the day. Even if you can only manage ten or fifteen minutes it will help to recharge your body and spirit as well as your mind. Having only to focus on yourself instead of meeting the demands of others for those few minutes will give you a lift and time to clear your mind.

6. Go for a walk.

One of the nicest ways to use your me time can be going outside for a short walk. It is a great way to not only clear your mind from a previous project, but to gather new ideas and creative energy. Let your mind wander free and take in the sights and sounds of nature all around you and you’ll be surprised and what you come up with that you might not have considered if you’d spent the entire day indoors.

7. Find other ways to relax.

If walking is not your thing, (and granted it’s not for everyone) then do something else that you find relaxing. Whether you like to curl up with a good book, or soak in a nice bubble bath, or even hit the local pool for a swim these are all ways to get in some quality me-time and let your mind wander at will.

8. Learn to meditate.

Or, if you already know how, then make time to practice every day. One of the best ways to clear your mind is through meditation. I’ve also found that not only do I get rid of the mental dust bunnies, I also come up with some of my best ideas just by meditating.

9. Take a deep breath.

Finally, if you need a quick mental clearing, nothing beats just taking a deep breath or two. Breathe in calm, peaceful energy and exhale all your stress, tension, and mental clutter. I find this works especially well if I’m in the middle of something and the words just won’t come.

Clearing out your mental clutter is essential to being more creative. Try using some of these tips to get rid of your mental dust bunnies and you will find that older ideas and energy that no longer serve your purpose are replaced by fresh new energy and ideas that will leave you at your creative best once again.

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2. Seven Sparks To Ignite Your Creative Engine Finding your creative spark is a process we all have...

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Finding your creative spark is a process we all have to go through at least once in our lives. For people who rely on their creative abilities for their livelihood, that spark can sometimes prove to be elusive – especially when there’s a deadline looming. For others who don’t think they even have a creative cell in their body, the thought of actually igniting their creative fire can be downright scary.

The plain truth is that we are all, each and every one of us, creative beings in our own right. Creativity is the mother of innovation, and regardless of how you use yours – as an artist, an inventor, to help others, or just as a means of creating pleasure for yourself – you deserve the awesome feelings that use can inspire. Your creative fire is already smoldering deep inside your, and just a simple spark can be all it takes for that fire to turn into a raging inferno of creative passion.

Sorry… I got a little carried away there. The thought of coming up with new ideas and new ways to create always gets me a tad over-excited. Happens every time I sit down to write an article, put a newsletter together, take a picture, or even play the piano. I can get downright giddy with it at times. *grins*

If your creative engine needs a bit of TLC, why not try one of these sparks to help get it going…

1. Do a brain dump.

Come up with at least 100 thoughts and ideas in a single session. I know it sounds overwhelming, but it is doable, and works really well at jumpstarting the creative process. It also provides a good way to do a let go of all those random thoughts you may have rolling around in your mind.

A couple of things to keep in mind during this process are: a) don’t edit or censor yourself — let things flow as they will; and b) make sure you really do complete it in a single session. You can sort and analyze later, but put all 100 thoughts down on paper in a single session to start with.

2. Use positive thinking techniques like affirmations, motivational quotes, and inspirational stories as a jumping off point. I can’t begin to count how many times a random quote or a piece of song lyrics have set me off on a train of thought that’s resulted in a new article or the beginnings of a novel.

3. Use the color yellow.

I’ve recently learned that, psychologically speaking, yellow inspires creativity. I’ve always thought my obsession with writing everything on yellow legal pads was just a quirk. I’m actually kind of relieved to know there’s something more to it than just another reason for my family to think I’m weird.

4. Use all of your senses.

I don’t know about you, but I read so much and rely on visual cues so much that there are days I just want to close my eyes and not look at anything for awhile. Being able to engage your other senses is a great way to come up with fresh ideas for creating.

5. Talk to people.

Most people love to talk and share their thoughts. Interview them, ask questions, and really pay attention to what they have to say. Tapping into other peoples’ brain power is a wonderful way to jump-start your own creativity.

6. Get out of the city.

I’ve often thought that people who live in the country have a much bigger advantage when it comes to being creative. You can actually hear yourself think out there!

Lately my favorite place to think is by the river. I am very fortunate to live in a city that has a lot of green space and water. So that even when I can’t actually get out of town, I can still find somewhere that’s quiet enough to think and recharge for another week of writing.

7. Last, but definitely not least, take a break when you need to. I read something the other day that said the time to relax is when you think you don’t have time to relax. Putting more stress and pressure on yourself when things aren’t flowing will only lead to more stress and frustration.

Get up and walk away – even if it’s only for five or ten minutes. You’ll find that when you come back the mental cobwebs will have cleared away and you’ll be ready to create again.

Finding your creative spark is an individual journey. We all have our own routines and processes to follow, and what works for me may not work for you. Nevertheless, I hope that these ideas give you some fuel for your own creative engine.

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Contrary to what many people believe, there is a spark of creativity inside every single one of us. It’s not limited to artists and poets – they just show theirs a little more overtly than other people do.

Creativity is really just the ability to think in unique ways. Any time you try to come up with a new solution to a problem or challenge you are thinking creatively, even though it may not seem like it at the time.

If you’re still thinking that you don’t have a creative bone in your body, here are five tips that you can use to tap into your hidden potential…

1. Let Yourself Be Inspired

Inspiration can provide the necessary spark to light your creative fire. When you act on what inspires you, new ideas and creative thoughts seem to flow almost effortlessly. The key is to let the inspiration flow and not cut it off because you’re unsure of what it might bring.

2. Follow Your Bliss

I borrowed that phrase from Joseph Campbell because it’s the best way I know to tap into your creative powers. If you have an idea of what you can do creatively, and you know it will make you happy, you owe it to yourself to at least try. So many people allow the fear of failure to stop them before they even get started. Don’t be one of them.

3. Expand Your Thinking

Always keep an open mind to new thoughts, ideas, and ways of doing things. Your creative juices will flow as long as you are willing to accept that there are always more ways to accomplish things than the “way it’s always been done.”

4. Never Give Up

When you find something that you feel compelled to do, don’t let others talk you out of it. Always keep learning, practicing, and improving because as long as you are happy with what you are creating, you are also creating your own success.

5. Take Time to De-Stress

Most people find it easier to be creative when they’re feeling calm and relaxed. Try to avoid getting into situations that make you feel stressed out and on edge. When you do find yourself feeling stressed, take the time to de-stress so you don’t choke off the flow of creative energy.

Tapping into your creativity takes some practice. And if you’re not used to using your creative energy, you will definitely need to practice. Try to find a few minutes each day to allow yourself to create. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with!

Photo Credit: © Bjørn Hovdal | Dreamstime.com

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The Beginner’s Guide To Creative Thinking

Practical Tips and Thought Experiments For When Thinking Outside The Box Is Not Enough

I’m not big on the hyped up sales letters that so many people use to sell their ebooks. Although in thinking about it, I sure read a lot of them, and buy a lot of ebooks because of them so maybe I’m selling myself short by not doing one here. But I know myself well enough to know that if I have to write a traditional sales letter, then this new report is just going to sit on my hard drive even longer than it already has. (I finished writing in May, in case you were wondering.)

So here’s the deal. A new “Report From the Stash” is ready for you. This one is titled, “The Beginner’s Guide To Creative Thinking”

It’s fifteen pages of practical information and ideas you can use to develop or improve your creative thinking skills.

Here’s a brief rundown of what’s inside:

• 5 Benefits of Creative Thinking

• 4 Skills you might already have that help in creative thinking

• A 4-step creative thinking process you can use

• How to develop your creative thinking mindset

• 5 Thought Experiments you can use to develop your creative thinking skills

• 7 Ways to Stimulate Your Creative Mind

• 4 More Creative Thinking Exercises

You can grab your copy for only $7.00 by clicking on the order button below:

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I was looking through a storage container of partially finished projects and products this afternoon, and I came to the conclusion that I have a serious problem.

I have a hard time letting go, especially of the things I’ve created.

I want to share them… really I do. But I don’t want to let go of them to the point that’s required for them to be of actual use to anyone else. And it’s not about control. It’s all about rejection.

I remember what it was like to be the kid no one liked. The one who got made fun of, was always left off the invitation lists, and was the last one picked for baseball every day. And it sucked. I was two years younger than everyone else thanks to the wonderful accelerated learning programs of the 1960s, and so in retrospect I can understand why I never really fit in socially but I wouldn’t wish that kind of rejection on my worst enemy. And I certainly wouldn’t wish it on any child of my own.

That’s when it dawned on me that I see creations in the same way as I see children. We can birth them, and nurture them until they’re fully grown. But then we have to set them free to make their own way in the world. They’ll still always be yours and a part of you, but they’ll lead their own lives and as creators we have to be able to accept that.

But it’s hard. As parents, we want our kids to be liked and accepted even though we know that won’t always be the case. As product creators, I think it’s much the same. We know that not everyone is going to like our creations, and we know that we don’t have the answers for every single person out there. Still, it’s hard not to be protective of your “babies” when they don’t garner the response you were expecting.

So where am I going with all this? Honestly, I’m not really sure yet. But I read this quote that Warren Whitlock posted on twitter earlier today:

“Do one thing every day that scares you” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

And my first thought was that putting a finished product up for sale is one thing that scares the crap out of me! I know that if I’m going to actually have the year I have planned for myself, then letting go of those finished creations and sharing them with the world is a big part of that. Now I just have to figure out how to do that.

Any suggestions? Leave a comment and share your thoughts. I’d love to hear them.

Have an incredible day!
Thanks for being here,

PS… January’s issue of The Acorn Stash Newsletter is ready for download.

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It’s ironic that when I started to put together an issue on creativity that I entered the worst creative slump of the year for me so far. There’s a definite cycle to my creativity sparks and slumps that roughly corresponds to the changing of the seasons, and while I always end up learning something about during the downtime, I have to say the timing on this one really sucked.

Thank goodness that when my writing spark was acting seriously un-spark-like, my reading ability wasn’t impaired at all. In my search for something — a word, a quote, or even a picture — to jumpstart my own creativity, I found a great bunch of blogs devoted to the topic. So here is the first Acorn Stash blog roundup featuring ten posts on creativity and its sparks and slumps.

1. The Breath of God Inspiration Method by Leo Babauta

Whenever I’m in need of a shot of peacefulness, Zen Habits is one of the first places I head. In this post, Leo shares a wonderful short three-step method on finding the inspiration to create in little, everyday moments. I’ve used this method myself (although I never realized it actually has a name) when I’m out hiking and taking pictures.

2. Creating In the Dark – Your Sacred Dance by Marelisa at the Abundance Blog is a wonderful post that talks about what to do when you’re creating outside the spotlight of fame. She profiles seven famous people who continued to create even though their art was totally unappreciated in their lifetime. I especially like the section at the end where she talks about finding the work that you were born to do.

3. In Smart Living Rule 11 – Travel, Explore and Try New Things Jeff Nickles writes about travel and how it can help to broaden our horizons and unleash our creativity.

“Getting out of our ruts gives us the opportunity to use our minds in new ways. We gain confidence by facing the small challenges that inevitably arise with travel.”

4. Turning to the more philosophical, Dustin Wax ponders the question Where Do Ideas Come From? on Lifehack.org. I’ll admit to having wondered more than once how some writers, artists and composers keep coming up with new ideas. I love his explanation that

“…we get ideas from within ourselves and from without, or more to the point, from the interaction of the two. It is in the active engagement of the artist with his or her world, through preparation, conscious attention, curiosity, effort, and a dash of serendipity, that ideas are born…”

There’s a lot more than I can do justice to here, especially on the differences between creative and non-creative people, that really deserves a thorough reading.

5. James at Organize IT makes some great points about creativity and practicality in Unleashing Creativity: Think Big AND Small. He also introduced me to a kindred spirit when he wrote:

“I never just type something up, whether it be a blog post or a chapter in my book. I prefer the freedom of writing and brainstorming on paper and that’s always where I start.”

That’s a sentiment I can identify with 100 percent. There’s just something about actually putting pen to paper that sparks my creativity much more readily than staring at a blank screen will ever do.

6. One of my favorite blogs is UrbanMonk.net and this guest post by Celestine Chua on How to Pursue Your Passion is a wonderful look at identifying and expressing your passion in life. She offers a five step plan that is very easy to put into action and will have you creating in no time. :)
.
7. This short post On Inspiration, Creativity and Ideas by Meredith Morgan really gave me an aha! moment when she commented that she was almost 50 before she started writing fiction. Considering that I’m closer to 50 than I’d really like to be, I had to include this one just because it made me wake up and really consider my options.

8. Anyone who knows me, or follows me on Twitter knows how much I love quotes. So when I came across the list of 75 Blog Quotes For Inspiration, Creativity & Success that Smart Boy (aka Christian Hollingsworth) posted, it was pretty much a given that I’d include it here.

9. In Looking Within for Inspiration Jon Hu asks “”But why is it that whenever we, as people who wish to be creative, wish to be inspired, we always look to things around us?”

It’s a great question, and a timely reminder that “We must remember that in addition to looking around at objects surrounding us, we must not forget to look back inwards, towards the very reasons why we do what we do.”

and finally,

10. Over at Life Set To Words, Maegan Beishline talks about what happens when you get into a non-creative slump in Sharing Thoughts on Inspiration and Creativity. “…creativity has an ebb and flow all it’s own,” she writes. “It’s best not to push it or get angry with yourself. Take some days to rest & re-fuel, gather sights & scents, and prepare yourself for the massive creative wave that surely coming your way!”

Great advice, for sure. :)

That does it for the first edition of the Acorn Stash Blog Roundup. I’d love to hear your thoughts on creativity and being creative, so please feel free to leave a comment!

Have a creative day,

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You’ve heard the saying “a change is as good as a rest” haven’t you? When it comes to giving your creative energy a boost, there’s definitely some truth to it!

When you’re stuck in a creative rut, little things that change up your routine can help to get the energy flowing again.

Here are 7 more ways to put your creative energy on track. (See four more ways in Read Get Out of That Rut, Part 1)

1. Change the route you normally take to and from work.
2. Read a book that you wouldn’t normally consider reading.
3. Strike up a conversation with the person next to you in line at the coffee shop, grocery store, etc.
4. Check out a new store you’ve never been to. Window shop if you feel nervous about just going in to browse.
5. People watch. You can sit in a park or at a cafe and create stories for the people who pass by.
6. Have coffee with a friend you haven’t seen for awhile. It’s so easy to lose touch that you’d be surprised just how much of a creative boost you can get from renewing old friendships.

As I’ve said before, boosting your creative energy doesn’t have to take a lot of hard work or money. Small changes are sometimes all it takes to get the flow going again.

Get creative!

P.S. Get in the habit of carrying something to write in, like a Moleskin notebook, when you’re out. You never know when that next great idea will hit you. :)

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I don’t know about you, but there are times when I can get into a serious creative rut. Nothing flows and I start feeling like I have the creative energy of a rock on those days.

I don’t let myself get too down about it though. Sometimes all it takes to get out of the rut is to find a new way of expressing myself.

Here are a few ideas you can use if you find your creative energy has decided to crawl under a rock for the day:

Redecorate a room in your house. It doesn’t have to be a major renovation project. A fresh coat of paint, or even just rearranging the furniture can be enough to stir the energy and get yours flowing again.

Change your wardrobe. Again, this doesn’t have to be drastic. Sometimes we slip into a rut with what we wear and don’t even notice it.

For example, at my least creative awhile back, my son pointed out to me that I hadn’t worn anything other than jeans and a black or grey t-shirt in years. We actually counted and I had over 30 black shirts in my closet. That’s a rut!

He dared me at that point to go a week without wearing anything black. So I went out and bought some new tops in bright blues and greens, and even a pink one. As soon as I changed the outward colour scheme, my inner energy shifted as well and I was able to start writing again. (And it was a good excuse for a shopping trip!)

Move your body. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to unstick your creative energy is just to get up and move your body. Turn on some funky music and dance for five minutes and see if whatever’s holding your creativity down doesn’t shake itself loose.

Use your imagination. Sometimes forcing the issue is the only way to move forward. But I’ve found that you have to be a little sneaky about it. :)

Some things you can do here are rewrite a fairy tale the way you think it should be told, or just write the silliest story you can think of at the time. No one’s going to see it but you.

My favorite thing to do when I’m really stuck is scribble. I have a nice big white board on the wall and when nothing else works to get my creativity flowing, I just pick up the markers and doodle and scribble all over the whiteboard. You’d be surprised at how often the seed of a new idea comes out of one of my scribble sessions.

Increasing your creative energy doesn’t have to take a lot of hard work or money to make changes. Most of the time you can get it flowing again by taking small actions that are just a tiny bit different than what you’ve been doing. The important thing is that you do take action and not let the lack of creative energy slow you down or stop you altogether.

Have a wonderful, creative day!

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