10 Ways to Tap Into Your Creative Flow

As a creative, inspiration can come from many different places. From present experiences to past memories, fictional worlds to real-life events, the art, work, and businesses you create from your experience are all uniquely and specifically shaped by your vision and presence.

However, sometimes it can be hard to get connected to those sources of inspiration. The creative process for innovators, entrepreneurs, and artists can be a complicated one that varies for every person.

Luckily, once you can identify and tap into your creative flow, you can begin creating and innovating your best ideas in no time at all.

What is Creative Flow?

Creative flow is, in simple terms, the things that make your brain unique and creative. As an inventor and innovator, your brain is responsible for coming up with new, fresh, and unique ideas that no one has seen before.

Each of these ideas are spawned by your individual spark, passion, and power, each of which make up your creative flow.

Creative flow powers your best ideas and most beautiful creations. It helps you invent your own new path forward and makes your work truly creative in nature.

Your creative flow varies from person to person and event to event, but its life force- the unique and ever-evolving nature of your own creativity- stays the same your entire life, and once you learn to tap into this incredible source of power, you might just be surprised by the sheer amount of creativity you experience.

10 Ways to Tap Into Your Creative Flow

1. Change Your Environment

We work and create best in new environments that are both engaging and relaxing. If you always create or invent at your desk, you may eventually begin to feel boxed-in by the familiar scenery and habitual patterns of invention.

If you’re feeling stuck in a rut or wanting to come up with something new and fresh, try going to a different environment, be it a different workspace, city, or even country, and let yourself tap into new and more creative possibilities.

2. Connect to Nature

Our natural surroundings are some of the most beautiful and inspirational places in the world.

The sheer massive size of most natural spaces can be enough to help us feel lost in new and creative places, so a great way to tap into your creative flow is to grab a notebook and head to your nearby park or hiking trail for some alone time in the great outdoors.

3. Look at What Others Are Doing

Sometimes a jolt from a friend or competitor can be enough to help get your creative juices flowing again. If you’re struggling with tapping back into your creative flow and connection, you may want to consider watching a webinar or a talk given by a top-ranking artist or innovator in your field for some extra inspiration.

Don’t copy their work, but do let their ideas jog some fresh ones in your own creative flow.

4. Tap Into Some Good Music

Music has long been a source of inspiration and motivation for us. Music has been responsible for the creation of some of the world’s most important innovations and inventions, including entire new art forms and expressions of life.

Listen to your favorite music for some classic, familiar comfort, or seek out a new style of music to create some fresh ideas. Jazz can be particularly creative, but any type of music will do.

5. Read a New Book

The act of reading can be a highly meditative and inspiring process.

The simple focus on one story, drowning out the world and distractions outside of you, can help you refine your focus and concentration efforts, helping you connect to the things that are most important to you. Reading new books in any genre will help you get inspired again and in new, exciting ways.

6. Watch an Interview or Read an Autobiography of Your Heroes

The people that inspire us are often our greatest heroes. Connecting to their stories and journeys as well as learning about the things that inspired their creative process can help you tap back into your own powerful creative flow.

Learn about your heroes in every way possible and allow yourself to become inspired by their work.

7. Keep a Journal

Sometimes keeping a journal, even if it’s as simple as a few sentences about your day, can be a powerful release that will help you process and work through emotions you didn’t even know you had.

Your journal is a sacred and private place where you can let your most raw and honest thoughts and ideas spill out, and this completely uncensored space can be a great way for you to tap into creative ideas you may not have otherwise recognized or remembered.

8. Allow Yourself to Experiment

Being able to experiment with your work in a pressure-free, inventive space is one of the best ways to reinspire yourself, especially if you’ve been working in your field for a long time.

Pressure-free experimenting gives you the freedom and chance to try things that might ordinarily never work. Failure is often the greatest teacher, so don’t be afraid to let yourself explore in order to tap into that creative flow.

9. Take Some Time Off

If your creativity is flagging, it might also be a signal that you need to take a break from what you’re doing. Sometimes the best source of inspiration is actually taking a break from what you’re doing in order to let your brain reset.

Step away from your work for a week or two and allow yourself to refocus and become re-inspired by your work. The rest will be easy!

10. Move Around

Physical activity can be a great way to reenergize and tap into your creative flow. Take a favorite activity like running, yoga, tennis, meditation, stretching, or swimming and make that a regular part of your day.

Allow your time in this activity to recenter yourself and help you feel more in-tune with your mind and spirit. Your creative flow will appreciate the boost.

Final Thoughts

Tapping into your creative flow is a sometimes challenging process that requires patience and persistence in order to get right.

Being a creative is a complex but incredibly rewarding experience and career that helps you come up with some of your best and most inventive works, and the more that you can create once you tap into your creative flow, the better off you’ll be.