5 Grounding Tips for Creativity

I’ve been thinking a lot about creativity, flow and whitespace these days, and how there is this society expectation and pressure set to always be “on”, to always be connected, to always have our fingers on tap of what’s cool and new. With a global pandemic and the last year being anything what we expected, there is this newfound energy of slowing down, to re-evaluate what we need and to re-align what we’re filling our cups up with. To really be intentional. What is it that really sets a fire within us? The focus on wellness and taking care of ourselves before we do anything else has taken a much-needed front row seat.

All this and yet, I found myself still working to fill my calendar with virtual conversations and a full plate of work. It’s my natural tendency to show up for others before I even dare look in the mirror at myself. It’s been a part of who I am from a very young age, except when we’re young there’s less expectations, less worries, less noise, less standards, less comparison. And while I know we cannot revert back into this childhood “wonder” state fully, it’s been my personal mission to tap into this energy more often. To turn off in order to tune in.

That’s what we all need, right?

I don’t know about you but when I’m overly stimulated or overwhelmed, I don’t perform my best creatively. I may be able to produce at a high level of output, but the creative juices may be dimmed by that pressure to produce. This is where whitespace and stillness come in.

There’s a reason the best ideas spark during the stillness of moments, whether we’re showering or falling into a deep slumber, we may get a blast of ideas to a problem we were working so hard to fix earlier that day. Creativity flourishes in space. It lacks in pressure. Sure, you can work quick to solve a problem and be creative in the solution - but I’m talking about formulating fresh ideas, something that screams, ah that’s a new take on something that might be otherwise familiar.

With the firehose of content we’re consuming each day, there is not a ton of “new” content and ideas that surfaces, but moreso, different and unique takes on similar concepts.

I’ve been working hard to ensure alignment in every single thing that I touch, every single thing that I spend my time on. Because, we all know how quickly life as we know it can shift in the blink of an eye. It can all change, and if we aren’t spending our days with things that light us up, what’s the point?

Some muses that keep me grounded within uncertain times are:

1. Outdoors.

   I’ve been trying my best to go get some fresh air in the middle or at the end of the workday to transition into a different mindset working from home, signaling the end of another day. I’ll admit that this is a complete work in progress and some weeks I’m better and more consistent than others,

2. Hobby projects.

   At the start of quarantine I got back into sewing and sewed a few garment projects throughout the year. This has been such a fun creative way to explore working with my hands and fabrics in new ways. I also started my Etsy shop in December 2020 that has been filling up my free time in the most wonderful of ways.

3. Reads.

   I’ve been expanding my mind with a collection of good reads. One of my favourite authors I’ve discovered in the last year, Brit Bennett with her books, The Mothers and The Vanishing Half. Her writing completely captures me, I couldn’t put them down!

4. Wander.

   Letting the brain wander and going analog to collect some thoughts. Like probably a lot of us, I’m really used to the instant gratification of digital tools, but I’ve been challenging myself to put pen to paper more often to spark and jot down ideas and let them flow out. But also, being sure to not force the outcome and have grace with whatever comes up in the moment. If nothing comes up, I let the mind collect stillness.

5. Creative convos.

   I LOVE brainstorming and entering a mutual state of dreamscape with fellow creatives. This past year has been definitely interesting connecting with others but with technology and “more” free time without needing to commute home from the office, there is more space to connect and brainstorm with fellow creatives virtually, which always leads me energized and full of new ideas.

What are your go-to’s to realign and connect back with yourself? I’d love to connect. Find me on Instagram, and let’s keep creating, together.