10 Tricks Really Creative People Use to Come Up with Great Ideas

If you consider yourself a creative individual, you know how difficult it can be to come up with great ideas regularly. Many of the greatest creative people throughout history also struggled with this challenge, but they found some tricks that helped them to overcome it. In this article, we will share with you 10 tricks creative people use to come up with great ideas.

1. Record Your Ideas & Refer to Them When Stuck

Recording your thoughts, words, drawings, and found objects in a journal or sketchbook is an essential step in the creative process. By keeping a record of your ideas, you will be able to refer to them later when you need inspiration. Some of the most creative people of all time such as Tim Burton, Claude Monet, and Andy Warhol kept a steady stream of sketchbooks throughout their lives and referred to them regularly.

2. Take in Diverse Opinions

Your perspective is limited by your experiences, so one way to expand your creativity is to take in the opinions and imagination of others. Listening to what those around you have to say and taking advantage of their unique perspective of the world can help you to see things in a different way and come up with new ideas.

3. Make Time for the Big Ideas

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and forget about your big ideas. To prevent this, make sure to set aside some time to sit down, play with your materials, trawl through your sketchbooks and let the magic happen.

4. Keep Abreast of News & Culture

The world around us is filled with inspiration waiting to be discovered. To tap into this source of creativity, keep up to date with what is happening in the world, both locally and globally. You never know what might spark your next big idea.

5. Work Toward Your Big Vision

Some of the most prolific creative people came up with their most amazing ideas because they were working toward a big vision that guided them every step of the way. Consider Apple, which took the world by storm with their revolutionary products—all guided by the unique Apple design principles and their big vision for what technology products could mean in people’s lives.

6. Shift Your Attention Regularly

It’s easy to get stuck in a creative rut when you’re so intensely focused on trying to come up with your one big creative idea. To ease the pressure, shift your attention regularly to something else. Doing so will give your mind a chance to refresh, ready for your big idea to surface when you return to the task at hand.

7. Brainstorm

Sometimes, a big brainstorming session is exactly what you need. It can be done alone or with others; simply start with your topic and write it in the middle of a big piece of paper. Around this central word, write every single thing that comes to mind associated with the topic at hand. The connections you create can spark some amazing big ideas.

8. Do Nothing

It might sound counterintuitive, but sometimes doing nothing is exactly what you need to do. Sit quietly and stare out the window. Go on a walk around the block. Lie on the grass and stare up at the clouds. Allowing your brain to do nothing at all leaves it free to imagine and come up with some pretty amazing ideas. Why not give it a try?

9. Channel a New Voice

You’ve been thinking in your own voice your entire life, so what if you role-played to be someone else creatively for the day? Take on the imagination of Walt Disney or the genius of Albert Einstein. Apply their unique ways of thinking to what sits in front of you and see what comes out. It can be as simple as saying to yourself, “What would Walt Disney do in this situation? What ideas might he have?”

10. Stick to a Routine

Having a regular routine can be the perfect way to spark some big creative ideas. Many famous creative people, including writer Stephen King, had a very set and specific daily routine that allowed their best ideas to flow. Consider developing your own daily routine to encourage the flow of great ideas.

Conclusion

As a creative individual, it can be challenging to come up with great ideas regularly. However, by following the tricks that creative people use, you can tap into your creativity, overcome your creative blocks and unleash your potential. Try different methods to find what works best for you, and always remember that creativity is a journey, not a destination.