If we want to encourage creativity, then it helps to know what deters or hampers it from happening. Thinking about the big picture is important to the creative process -- but if you're too focused on the big picture, you may have trouble coming up with good ideas. While I was going to be fair and as apolitical as possible, I just knew the timing was not right. 2. Unchain yourself from your project or task for some time--you might be surprised what taking a step back can do for helping your creativity flow. 5 Ways To Overcome Your Creativity Drain Published on September 4, 2017 September 4, 2017 • 3,345 Likes • 93 Comments. Think back to some of your most creative years in life. Julian Hüner Follow Product Manager at epay, a Euronet Worldwide Company. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1107–1115. Stanford researchers have found that walking improves creativity. Michael Michalko is one of the most highly acclaimed creativity experts in the world and author of the best sellers Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity), ThinkPak (A Brainstorming Card Deck), and Cracking Creativity (The Secrets Of Creative Genius). Let it be. 7. Often definitions of creativity speak of the ability to generate novel responses to problems and challenges. A month ago, as I sat at my computer, I had every intention of writing about etymology, and how it relates to the recent debate on the definition of concentration camps. Not only does inspiration form while walking, but then it continues to come even after you return to your desk. My resume is out there, I had one gig this year creatively, but nothing long term. A classic test of creativity, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking was introduced by psychologist Ellis Paul Torrance in the sixties as a way to administer a more creatively inclined IQ test. One just cannot throw oneself into the sea of technically savvy people and survive as a creative or concepting entity. Being creative is a bubble, being an idea person, the same sentinel, and yet, those who have mastered software programs seem to reign supreme. Make Something For Play. The way you can place random inhibitions on your creativity - other than by jolting your thinking, as mentioned on point 8 - … Seligman, M. E. P. (1994). On average, creative thinking increases by 60% when there is walking involved. I don’t think this is true. Creativity is best fueled when it is controlled by random inhibitions - which is why there is a big misconception about drugs fueling creativity. Creative ideas and solutions also come when we think of something in a different or usual way, or from a uniquely different perspective. A lot of people believe that creativity is the result of chaos. Creative Battery Drain #2: Not understanding your limits. Respondents were given images like the ones below and asked to finish the picture. Lifehacker puts it this way: Try thinking of 10 cities. Creative blocks can happen between people as well as between the ears. Communication breakdown. Then, try to think of 10 cities near your hometown. 3. Creative production by angry people peaks early on, decreases over time, and is relatively unstructured.