Confession: This Week I Became a Morning Walker
You know, one of those people.
Except it's not as cute as it sounds. We don't live in a neighborhood. My 9 month old despises anything that restrains her: carseat, stroller, gravity itself, all of it. And she is a full on chunk. So really, this whole operation only works when my husband gets home from work and can be the designated baby hauler while I power walk next to them like we're training for something.
Three days in. That's it.
But I already feel like a different human. More energy. More ideas. More "oh that's actually a good creative idea" moments popping into my brain instead of "did I remember to eat lunch."
It got me thinking about where creativity actually comes from, because it is definitely not from staring at a blank Procreate canvas willing inspiration to strike.
So if you're in a slump, here's where I'd go looking instead.
1. Break your routine
Turn the soup. Take the different exit home. Sit in a different chair at dinner. Our brains are wired to notice what's new and tune out what's familiar, which is exactly why the same four walls and the same commute stop giving us anything to work with. A tiny disruption, even something as small as brushing your teeth with your other hand, wakes up parts of your brain that autopilot usually skips right over. You don't need a life overhaul. You just need to jostle the routine a little.
2. Move your body
Walk, lift, dance badly in your kitchen, whatever gets the blood flowing. This isn't just a feel good platitude. Movement increases blood flow to the brain and gets things like dopamine and endorphins moving too, which is a big part of why a walk can turn a flat, foggy mood into a clear one. We were made to move, not to marinate in a desk chair or a couch cushion. Some of my best ideas this week showed up somewhere around minute ten of walking, completely uninvited.
3. Get outside
Fresh air, birds chirping, the whole "God made a beautiful world" experience. It's free therapy, and it's also a change of scenery your brain doesn't get sitting inside under fluorescent lights. There's something about natural light and open space that loosens the tight, cluttered feeling in your head. You don't have to hike a mountain. A driveway and a mailbox and some sky will do just fine.
4. Breathe
Actually stop and take a few slow breaths. Sounds too simple to work. Works anyway. Slow, deliberate breathing tells your nervous system it's safe to come down out of go mode, and creativity has a hard time showing up when your body thinks it's in survival mode. You don't need an app or a ten step ritual. Three slow breaths in your car before you walk into the house counts.
5. Notice the small things
There is so much happening around us just waiting to be turned into something. This morning it was a crack in the sidewalk. My brain immediately filed it away as background lines for a new lettering piece. Creativity is rarely about waiting for a big lightning bolt idea. It's about paying attention to the ordinary stuff, a shadow, a texture, a weird little pattern in the tile, and asking what it could become. The more you practice noticing, the more raw material you have to work with.
So that's it. That's the whole secret. Go outside, move a little, notice a crack in the sidewalk.
Chunky babies optional but recommended.
If you want a little more...Check out my Creative Catalyst Toolkit!
xo, meg