How To Build Your Creative Muscles.

Part I of a Three-Part Series.

Want to develop a creative habit that generates momentum in your work and life? There are three skills you need to embrace: Creating Daily, Reflecting and Sharing.

When my sister and I began testing out the Creative Sprint – our 30-day creativity challenge – we knew the principles were sound because of our own successful experiences with daily creative practice. Of course doing it yourself and teaching it to other people are very different things. We quickly realized that there were some fundamental principles that made all the difference for people interested in discovering the creative possibilities that are around us all the time. Luckily the core concepts are simple and easy for anyone to try. And what we’ve found is the commitment to doing all of them over a thirty-day period creates amazing opportunities for learning and transformation.

Below is an excerpt from our new book Creative Sprint: Six 30-Day Challenges to Jumpstart Your Creativity that gives you some insight into why creating daily is so important for your own creative journey…

Creating Daily

The purpose of the daily practice of creativity is to make it as much a natural, unquestioned, essential part of your day as brushing your teeth!

When you were a kid, practice was basically all you did, and you did it every day! You learned how to communicate by practice: speaking, writing, and reading all came from the simple repetition of doing. And as you got older, you learned more complicated skills this way, like how to ride a bike and how to play instruments.

As adults, we rarely have the time to practice anything. You learn what you need to know to get the task at hand done and then you move on. When was the last time a job let you practice something? Isn’t it strange how rare this is? How are we supposed to get better without practice?

We’ve found daily practice allows you to see those benefits on a much faster timeline. During a Creative Sprint, you are not only practicing your creativity on a daily basis, but also the ability to quickly switch into the creative headspace—getting yourself used to going there even when it feels inconvenient. In time, you’ll find it becomes much more natural. It may even feel like you have gained a super power, because a lot of people have not taken the time to develop this ability! They don’t realize being creative is even something they can develop.

What you’re really doing here is training your brain to activate your creativity at will. You will notice that it begins to get easier and easier to get your mind into a creative mode and a state of flow as you continue your practice day by day. This is about finding your personal creative switch, figuring out what turns it on (and off), and then flipping the switch until it’s completely natural. Once you’ve reached this stage, you’ll be the master of inspiration, never having to wait for it to just strike randomly.

It may seem like there’s no room in your schedule, but everyone has a few minutes to spare somewhere in their day—and it takes that little to start. Set a timer so that you really commit to this time. Start small: try for ten to fifteen minutes. Or if that’s too daunting, start with three to five minutes and then slowly increase the time you spend day by day.

Does it seem impossible that such a small amount of time could be beneficial? It did for us too at first. But you’ll be surprised at what happens after just a few days. Keep in mind that this is about something that happens incrementally, and incremental change is often imperceptible at first. However, once you commit you will quickly find that you have more time in your schedule than you thought, and, even better, you’ll start looking forward to your creative time.

Have you experienced the benefits of Creating Daily? Share a story in the comments section.

Read part II HERE.