4 Exercises to Improve Your Creative Thinking Skills
by Anjali Patel
Many individuals rely on jigsaw puzzles and word searches to work their brains and critical thinking skills. These are great options to help develop your ability to concentrate for long periods of time and think quickly. Other important skills that develop over time include intuition and creativity, necessary components in a wide range of situations. When traveling, working, or pursuing recreational activities, creative skills are essential to everyone’s lifestyle in some way or form.
Although many people believe that individuals are born with these characteristics, they definitely grow over time. There are ways you can improve your aptitude of thinking outside the box. Here are some unique exercises that you can use in order to help you come up with distinct proposals and visions in both the workplace and life.
1.) Record a conversation
When you’re walking around the mall, writing in a café, or eating in a restaurant, chances are that you may overhear a conversation. Whether it is an argument between a sales associate and customer or a business phone call, record a couple of lines in a notebook or on your notes app. Later, take those notes and think of various scenarios, storylines, and messages that dialogue could potentially become a part of. Brainstorm by making sketches and writing words out in a notebook. Therefore, whenever you do want to pursue some creative endeavor, letting your imagination express these possible situations through various mediums can stimulate ideas.
2.) Take unusual pictures
With social media such as Instagram and Snapchat, it seems that everyone is able to take beautiful pictures to share with the rest of the world. However, many photos that have been taken capture the same sunset or ocean that has been photographed numerous times. Next time you go to the park, take pictures of unusual objects. Instead of photographing the trees or the grass, take a picture of the back of a slide or the rungs of a ladder. Physically viewing something from a different angle can help build your perception on a deeper scale.
3.) Play with building blocks
As you grow older, the ability to create something with Legos or Jenga blocks does not come as easily. We naturally grow more circumspect and may even become perfectionists. When you play with blocks, there are no limitations. There is no specific way to assemble them. You might think that having no particular procedure is easy but we are so often accustomed to receiving direction that allowing your mind to freely think could actually be difficult. This “free thinking” exercise can help foster new standpoints.
4.) Take a trip to the grocery store
Next time you do your grocery shopping at the local supermarket, pay close attention to how brands and products are marketed. Some of the most creative and effective techniques are used within the business and entrepreneurial realm. Notice the cereal box covers and even just the overall layout of the actual store. On your Notes app, record three aspects that stood out to you the most. It could be the way the luscious streams are portrayed on the water bottles for sale or the way the candy aisle is color coded. Simply acknowledging these details throughout daily chores can help develop your creative flow of thought.