Creative thinking skill is the ability to see the problem and come up with ideas by seeing the world differently. This skill is in high demand right now since the problem in this world getting harder to realize (because everything is just work) and more difficult to solve(e.g how to stop climate change).

I think everyone is born creative. But as time goes on, we are often slapped with the reality that blunts our creativity. That’s why I think to reclaim our creativity we have to develop some habits that are friendly with our creative mind.

Here are some habits that I have applied, that make me more creative every day.

1. Workout
2. Boredom
3. Forget about rules
4. Observing
5. Learn something new
6. Hobbies
7. Capture machine

let me explain one by one.

1. Workout

Regular exercise, according to the researchers, appears to be related to increased divergent and convergent thinking, which are the two components of creative thinking. People that likely to move will come up with better ideas than the average person. This happens because people who frequently exercise inhale more oxygen to the body. This makes more blood enter your brain and enhance your mind to think creatively. So if you want to be more creative, keep your body moving often.

2. Boredom

I think boredom is underrated in this world. We try to block our time to do something. I think that was not productive or creative, it just makes you stressed and busy. By doing nothing, we can reduce the cognitive load of our overstimulate brain. This will foster your brain and improve your brain health. In the end, this will make your brain more focused and come up with more divergent ideas.

Simple techniques to be bored:

1. Block a time (30–60 minutes)
2. Get rid of all distraction
3. Put a piece paper beside of you
4. Start daydreaming
5. Note if you came up with something

The key here is not to do anything. Keep your mind empty and if you think something writes it down then clear your mind again. So on and on.

3. Forget what you learn

When we came with a problem, unconsciously, We always make some limitations for the possibility because of our experience in the past. Who says that? Sometimes we set the rules that no one gives. Don’t add unnecessary burden. At this time, forget what you learn. it's okay to be a little bit crazy. it's okay to break the rules. So we can bring something that is out of the box.

Here is some practice that I do every night to train my brain to think more different:

1. Pick one everyday thing (ex: a toothpaste)
2. Say 10 unrelated things but somehow relate to what you pick (ex: camel → because the brush remind me of camel eyelashes)
3. Make it a routines

The more unrelated you can make the more creative idea that you can generate. I know it is a little bit dumb. But try it yourself, it is only 5 minutes. have fun with it because there are no rules.

4. Observing

In the mid-1600s, a man was sitting under an apple tree, and an apple fell on his head. He thinks why this apple can fall from top to bottom. Finally, he discovered the theory of gravity and became popular ever since. Yup, he is Sir Isaac Newton. Gravity came up because Sir Isaac observed his circumstances.

There is not enough evidence that observation skills are related to how we think creatively. There is some experiment that people who like observing is more creative than others. But, I feel it myself, I found much inspiration when I go outside and try to observe the beauty of nature. Sometimes its came from a simple dirt pattern in the ground and sometimes came from a complex ecosystem in my environment. Here is what I do when observing something:

1. Go outside
2. Take a walk
3. Find something Interesting
4. Take a picture of it
5. Take a pause and think

You see that I put step 4 first instead of step 5. This has something to do with one of the habits later.

5. Learn Something New

I don't think some topics need to be learned just if you need it in the future. I learn it because I love it or am interested in it. I learn how to play guitar not because I needed to be a guitarist. I learned physics not because I needed to be a Scientist. I am just interested in physics and guitar so I learn them. I think we forget that part. Part of the fun. Learning something new is fun. Finding new facts is fun. It's not a waste of time.

Besides, This habit makes me have more information in my brain. More information stored in our memory enables us to think more creatively and critically. Try to learn what you’ve always wanted. It doesn’t matter if it’s not important to your professional life. The most important thing is that you enjoy learning it.

6. Hobbies

Having some hobbies makes me think about some problems from a different perspective. According to research, having a hobby stimulates your thinking and helps you come up with new ideas. You might learn or realize something new while doing your hobby. This thing will make your receive a new perspective when you working on something that looks so hard.

Hobbies have some benefits for my life. It makes me less stressed and happier. When I get overwhelmed with my work tasks, I take a break and simply pick one of my fiction books and start reading. When I realized the solution while reading the book, I stop reading and started working again.

7. Capturing

Capturing in here means the ability to capture your thinking to something that you can see or hear. You can do this by taking pictures, making a video, or writing it down. The idea is to capture what is on your mind to some tangible thing. It will make something abstract to be a reality.

This habit is really important because we don’t know when the idea will come up. sometimes when it came up we immediately get rid of that because it was a bad idea. That was not a bad idea. You haven’t given time for the idea to explain itself. That’s why capturing is important. Capture your thinking no matter is good or bad. Review it in the night and you realize that was not so bad idea.

That was some habit that I’ve implemented in my life. Maybe instead of saying this habit makes me more creative. This habit impacts my life as a whole. Those habits make me happier, less stressed, and more structured. The best part of those habits is it not hard to implement and because of it, I think you should give them a shot too.