It is not easy to stay creative. We get busy. We have responsibilities. Life gets fast and intense. We want to create our best stuff, all the time, but it is not easy. Sometimes we need a little jump-start. Other times, we need to intentionally create just to stay fresh. Here are a few FREE ways to keep you creative:

• Stay alert – Look for creative inspiration. Look for things that spark an idea or your imagination. They may be anywhere. When we stay alert we identify the hidden nuggets of creative inspiration in the world around us.
• Write something down – Daily. Write down an idea or a thought, maybe a picture. Write it down and save it. If we don’t write ideas down we risk losing them. Are you willing to lose a unicorn if you could capture one?
• Take a picture – Every day. Take a picture of something. Taking pictures forces us to frame our world. It forces us to look at one area not the entire panoramic. Taking pictures gives us a lesson in composition of the world around us.
• Have a conversation – Talk to someone who agrees with you, someone who will disagree. Someone who challenges you and someone you can encourage. Conversations build community and community builds great art.
• Change positions – Find a different place or angle to work. New canvases create new opportunities for ideas.
• Get alone – Sometimes we have to get alone. Block out the noise and the distractions. Turn off email and twitter. Avoid Instagram. Find the screaming ideas that are hiding in the silence.
• Listen to something new/ different – Music we love can inspire us but so can music we don’t know. Change the soundtrack and adapt it to the mood you are in or the mood you need to get into.
• Don’t settle – Look at art you have created and find adjustments. What can you make better?
• Don’t quit – Ever. It is the only thing that will keep you from being your creative best. Quitting is the end goal of the resistance…don’t fall victim. Failure and setbacks can make you better. Tomorrow is only a day away…unless you quit.

What are some things you do to stay creative?