Simple ideas to refill your creative cup
Even if you don't think of yourself as 'creative'
Hello, I’m Molly, a full time creative based in the Scottish Highlands. Subscribers can enjoy weekly posts around the themes of slow living, with members getting access to ALL my work, including video tea times, slow letters and seasonal book reviews to name a few!
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What do you do if you wake up one morning and find that your creativity has deserted you?
Well, the short answer is, don’t try. This is your mind’s way of saying that instead of forging on, you need to focus on refilling your creative cup.
I’ve been a full time creative for almost 2 years now and it didn’t take long for me to learn that nurturing my creativity is a job in itself. This means I’ve come up with a few tips and tricks along the way that help keep this spark ignited.
I’ve found it’s all about balance. I need a mix of novel and familiar. To be alone and part of a crowd. Venture online and spend time unplugged.
Creativity is humanity’s superpower and plays a part in everything we do. That’s why, even if you don’t think of yourself as a ‘creative’ person, I feel that indulging in some of these activities might just be the reset you needed.
Ways to refill your creative cup
Spend time unplugged in nature. Leave your earphones at home and instead be present in your surroundings and allow nature to recharge your creative batteries.
Research something that interests you. Continuing to learn as adults is such a valuable skill. Try keeping an ongoing list of things you’d like to learn more about, for the pure sake of indulging your curiosity, and then spend some time channelling your inner researcher.
Find a new cultural activity in your neighbourhood. We are all guilty of taking our local attractions for granted, but if you do a little digging, I’m sure you will find a gallery/museum/botanic gardens etc nearby that would be worth a visit/revisit.
Have new conversations with loved ones. Ask your friends and family members interesting questions to find out more about them. You may be surprised what stories you can uncover.
Read a few lines from a book you admire. You don’t have to read an entire book to get value from it. I regularly pull a favourite volume from my shelf, skip to a random page and read a few paragraphs. This works well with poems or short stories too.
Make something with your hands. This can be anything - baking, gardening, painting, flower arranging, a new bookshelf. Whatever interests you and allows your brain to be focused on one task for a while.
People watch to inspire stories. I’ve gotten into the habit of taking a notebook with me wherever I go. This means I often write down observations of the people around me and have fun making up answers to questions about their lives.
Create a Pinterest board of inspiring images. Pinterest is one of the remaining apps on my phone and is a great source of inspiration for all sorts of interests. You can also do this physically if you have a printer or enjoy collecting magazines.
Take a new route to a regularly visited location. This is an easy way to add a sense of novelty to your day.
Watch a beautiful movie. Films are often taken for granted these days, but they can offer such a wonderful immersive experience. Pick something cinematic and really allow yourself to become engrossed in the story.
Take a class. Again, this gives us the opportunity to learn something new. You can do this online (I’m a massive fan of Skillshare* for this) or see what’s on offer in your local area.
Create new outfits from existing clothes. This not only offers a fun creative exercise, it can also mean we shop less often and make the most of the clothing we already own. (I like to take photos as reference for when I’m stuck for what to wear).
Rearrange your space. Our surroundings have a massive impact on how we think, so a small refresh can go a long way. Experient with moving around furniture or rearranging your artwork. You don’t need to buy something new for a space to feel revitalised.
(*You can use this LINK for a 7-day free trial 20% off a Skillshare membership)
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Thank you for reading my loves!
Until next week,
Molly xx
I really love baking but sometimes I find myself making the same thing over and over again. When this happens I turn to some historical recipes I own which are so different from the cakes I usually make. Some are from the Elizabethan era, such as Naughty Cake. I'm yet to cook Farts of Portingale though, as they contain meat!
Love all the ideas :-) Writing poems by hand and with watercolor always puts me in the right mood. Thanks for sharing these!