11 Things That Can Help Remove Your Creativity Roadblock

Nothing is more frustrating than struggling with artist's block. Get where you need to go for inspiration with the 2017 Toyota Corolla.

1. Don't clean your room.

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A 2013 study found that people thinking up ideas in a messy room were 28% more creative than those in a tidy room. So leave your dirty clothes where they are — it's brainstorm time!

2. Put the smartphone down.

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Smartphones may help your productivity, but time spent doing nothing or being bored can help your creativity. When you're bored and you pick up your phone to alleviate that boredom, you could be robbing yourself of your next great idea.

3. Take a shower.

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According to cognitive scientist Scott Barry Kaufman, the next time you need inspiration, showering could help because the "relaxing, solitary, and non-judgmental shower environment may afford creative thinking by allowing the mind to wander freely and causing people to be more open to their inner stream of consciousness and daydreams."

4. Pick up an exercise habit.

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Research indicates that people who exercise regularly tend to test better for convergent and divergent thinking (the two types of thought associated with creativity) than their non-exercising peers. Maybe jocks aren't so dumb after all....

5. Call a friend and talk it out.

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Sometimes you can more easily create something artistic by just telling a friend about it. This can help renew your focus and make your message feel more manageable.

6. Practice mindfulness.

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Research suggests that pursuing mindfulness by observing your surroundings not only might help you make decisions and improve your general mental health but also stimulates creative thinking. Next time you're going through a dry spell, focus on the present and avoid trying so hard.

7. Change your creative medium of expression.

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Trying to write a story? Take a drawing break. Struggling to compose a song? Snap a few pictures. Changing the way you express yourself might help you see things in a different light.

8. Get uncomfortable.

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Look, no one likes being in an uncomfortable situation, but getting out of your comfort zone could help spur new ways of thinking and thus new ideas.

9. Travel to new places.

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"Travel broadens the mind" is hardly a new notion. In recent years, scientists have theorized that the new experiences you have when traveling open up new neural pathways and thus increase the neuroplasticity of the brain, which ultimately can lead to increased creativity.

10. Sometimes you need to use your willpower to bulldoze through.

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If you sit around and wait for the perfect moment to begin composing a poem, creating a recipe, or writing a blog, you might be waiting around for a painfully long time. When Canadian artist Kristi Malakoff is feeling hopeless, she relies on just powering through: "It's just pure willpower that gets me through these moments."

11. Lighten up and give yourself permission to be imperfect.

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Putting pressure on yourself to create something perfect can be stifling. Painter Lisa Golightly says, "There is no 'right' way to make art. The only wrong is in not trying, not doing. Don’t put barriers up that aren’t there — just get to work and make something."

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