Lockdown can really hamper your creativity. Being stuck inside (with our family no less!) and staring at your four walls doesn’t exactly get the creative juices flowing. This is really a problem if you need to do any sort of creative work for your job. Having little interaction with people outside a computer or phone and not experiencing different activities can make the brain juices run a little slowly.
I put together a list of 10 lockdown activities to inspire creativity on a budget. Getting a massage may work, as may jetting off on a private plane, but if you are on a tight budget like me, we need to get our creativity from other cheaper sources.
I’ve been struggling thinking of creative ideas to do with my kids ALL DAY LONG, and I find that having a list to go to makes it easier. Once you start doing SOMETHING, then the ideas begin to flow. Use these ideas as a sounding board to force yourself into a creative state of mind. It may sound counterintuitive, but it works!
If you are not stuck at home and don’t need to be inspired to be creative, these ideas can still help you think of things to do when you are in a funk and just feel like laying on your bed and staring at your phone. Not that there is anything wrong with that! Sometimes we need to sit and do nothing! However, too much of that is not a good idea. So take one of these ideas and let the creativity be inspired!
10 Lockdown Activities To Inspire Creativity on a Budget
Take a Shower
There is nothing like a long, hot shower to get your brain racing! Whenever I feel stuck mentally, I like to take a shower and let my mind unwind. If you want to enhance the experience, buy some eucalyptus stalks and tie them to your shower head. The smell will be refreshing!
The only problem is what to do when a fantastic idea or line or solution hits you mid-shower! (I know some creatives who keep a phone in the bathroom so they can jump out and leave a quick voice note to themselves when needed).
Take a Walk in Nature
Nature is all around us. It’s beautiful, and there is nothing to inspire the poetic creativity inside us than by looking out at G-d’s creations. If you are lucky enough to live in or near a place that is unsullied nature, then enjoy it! If you, like me, live in urban sprawl, do your best to find someplace where you can look at nature uninterrupted (or only slightly interrupted). Parks, beaches, a street median- nature can surprise you and inspire you like nothing else.
Make Inspirational Posters and Sayings
Surrounding yourself with inspiring ideas and sayings can be a great way to trigger creativity in your everyday life. Making the posters yourself (as opposed to buying them from somewhere) will save you money. The act of creating something will also bring creativity. You can use these excellent font bundles, such as the Birthday SVG (also great for a DIY birthday party!) and Grandma SVG to make cool and personal posters and sayings for your office, kitchen, and anywhere else!
Have a Dance Party
Forcing your body to take over your mind and give it a break is sometimes the best cure for your mind not working. focusing on physical movement forces your brain to take a rest, and then when it wakes up again, it’s raring to go! (Ok- this is not super scientific of me, and I don’t know if this is true, but it works for me, so it may work for you too!). Turn on loud music and dance away! Keep yourself moving as much as possible. This is great if you have kids because they can join in the fun! Nothing makes little kids happier than to see mom or dad dancing away in the living room. (Teenagers may just be embarrassed, but that is their problem- not yours!)
Meditate
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Mediation and focused breathing can help clear your mind of extraneous thoughts and ideas and help you focus and channel your energies. Empty your mind. Concentrate on your breathing and let the creative ideas flood your mind.
Cook Good Food
Filling your body will fill your soul. Creating good food, although you follow a recipe and specific instructions, is a creative act. After all, what is more creative than creating something from scratch? Engaging in a specific creative activity that will also help you nourish your body will inspire creativity in anything you try to do. And also, yummy food is fun to have so…make some soup!
Paint
I don’t care if you are good at painting or terrible at it. Painting is such a great and fun way to inspire creativity. If you don’t feel like you can express yourself with images, use abstract painting, and different mediums to help express yourself on paper or canvas. You don’t need to create something good or even keep it when you are done; painting will help release your creative spirit, and it’s fun!
Journal
Sharing your emotions and thoughts in the journal by writing is a therapeutic and fantastic way to increase your creativity. Even if you don’t have anything to say or you can’t figure out what to say – just start writing. Start midsentence, make it gibberish- it doesn’t matter. just use words on paper or computer screen to clear your thoughts and eventually make order out of them
Read a New Book
Reading exposed you to new ideas and new thoughts. Reading broadens the mind. No matter what you read, fiction, non-fiction, excellent books for women (hint, hint), you will learn new stuff and expand your mind. You will learn how to think of something in a new way, and you will be exposed to new ideas and new ways of thinking. All this leads to a creative mind and a creative soul. Pick up a book and get inspired!
Clean
Cleaning your house is like cleaning your mind. I’m serious. Cleaning is a physical activity, so your body can help trigger your mind. As you “zone out” and focus on the physical aspects, your thoughts will bubble up to the surface, and creativity will ensue. Although this activity is so hard to get started- who wants to begin scrubbing counters or windows? Once you start, you will see how good a feeling you get when you clean, and at least for me, it clears my mind and helps my thoughts settle.
Whether you are in a government-mandated lockdown or if you are struggling to inspire creativity in your life, you can use any of these ideas to help you boost creativity.
