31 Ways to Reclaim Your Creativity

This is for the people who were supposed to be artists, but somehow got lost along the way.

This is for the people who used to feel creative, but now spend more time scrolling on their phones than reconnecting with childhood wonder.

This is for the people who have never called themselves creative, but still feel curious about making something just because it looks fun.

 

The good news is that creativity is a muscle, and it does not care if you look cool using it.

Pick three ideas from the list and give them an honest try over the course of one week. 

Make it messy, make it weird, make it yours. Here are 31 ways to reclaim your creativity. 

It might just change your whole life. 

 

1. Read a physical book and take notes. Then write a response to the writer in your own voice, with your own ideas.

2. Choose a part of your home that doesn’t quite feel right. Buy one inexpensive thing to make that part of your house make a little bit more sense.

3. For 24 hours, look at your life through the lens of a documentary photographer. Take at least 24 photos—aesthetic photos encouraged—that encapsulate a day in your life.

4. Go on a 15-minute walk, ideally without your phone. Find a place to sit and allow your mind to wander.

5. Write a conversation between you right now and yourself at eight years old. Allow little you to ask a difficult question. Give an honest response. Imagine how little you would respond. Try not to cry. 

6. Start a commonplace journal with a half-finished notebook you already own. For seven days, commit to writing down:

Three things you’re grateful for

Any ideas that come to mind

Your to-do list

Any meaningful quotes or phrases you hear or read in the wild

7. Find a piece of writing you absolutely love. Narrow it down to one page or one paragraph, then write it down by hand in your notebook.

8. Name the way you’re feeling right now. Create a collage using only the things you already have in your home.

9. Grab a mirror and look at yourself. Draw six self-portraits in different styles. Only one should be photorealistic. The goal is not to make them perfect illustrations. The goal is to see yourself from a new perspective. And yes, it will be way more interesting if you allow yourself to make quick silly doodles.

10. Pretend you’ve been picked to be the newest member of a band in your favorite genre of music. Now put together your cool-girl or cool-guy outfit using things you already own in your closet. This is your chance to redefine your personal style. 

11. Pick a feeling you want more of in your life. Make a tiny moodboard–a collection of colors, images, and words that come to mind in relation to that feeling. 

12. Recreate something you love from another creative person you admire. It’s totally okay to copy, just cite your source. Bonus points if you pick two items from different creatives you admire and make something new that’s your own. (Note: This idea comes from Austin Kleon’s book Steal Like an Artist) 

13. Read Austin Kleon’s book Steal Like an Artist.

14. Go through your closet and find ten items that no longer match the person you are in this season of your life. Put them in a bag and donate them.

15. Complete a coloring sheet. You can download one online or you can go to your local Dollar Store and purchase a coloring book. 

16. Write a handwritten note for someone you love. Put it in an envelope with a stamp and mail it to them. Write down what they say when they call you thanking you for the note. It might make you cry. 

17. Write a one-minute song based on the song you played the most this month.

18. Create an audition tape for your favorite TV show right now, or one from your childhood. Get dressed in an outfit that matches the character, set up a camera, and record yourself. It’s okay if it’s terrible. Everything Tyler Perry makes is terrible and I still usually enjoy it. 

19. Narrate the process of cooking your favorite dish like you’re a celebrity chef on a cooking show on PBS. It makes cooking feel much more silly. It’s okay if it’s just a sandwich.  

20. Write a 100-word short story. Here are three ideas if you can’t come up with anything:

Someone finds a note in their pocket, but they don’t remember putting it there. It’s the love note from the universe they need right at this exact moment.

A person gets one chance to ask an extraterrestrial a piece of advice.

Two strangers reach for the same book at the library, and one of them recognizes the other.

21. Pick an ordinary object in your home. Write a short description of it as if you’re an archaeologist from the year 2062 trying to figure out what humans used it for.

22. Make a tiny magazine from one sheet of paper. Give it a theme like Things That Make Me Feel Like Myself or Small Joys I Don’t Want to Forget.

23. Invent a holiday for something that deserves more appreciation. Give it a name, a tradition, and a very specific way to celebrate it. Now add it to your calendar. You invented a new tradition for yourself. 

 

24. Invent a new word for a feeling or moment you’ve never had a name for. Write its definition and use it in a sentence. Bonus points if you drop the word in conversation with friends. This could be the next “Bootylicious.” This could be the next “Skibidi.” You’re a fucking trendsetter now. 

 

25. Invent a pretend business that would make your life better. Give it a name, a one-sentence description, and hand draw a logo.

 

26. Design a flag for your life right now using three colors, symbols, or shapes.

27. Write a set of instructions for someone who loves you: “How to take care of me when I’m having a hard fucking day.” Laminate it and give it to someone that cares about you. 

28. Make a punch card for every day you do a small creative task on this list. It should have at least 8 spaces. Decide on a reward that would genuinely make childhood you smile. 

29. Draw a four-panel comic about a small, mildly annoying thing that happened this week. Don’t worry about the cartoon illustrations being great, but try to actually make yourself laugh with the writing.

30. Create a short dance to the chorus of a song you love. It can be as simple as three moves repeated.

31. Teach someone how to do something you already know by heart. Make a simple illustrated guide—stick figures absolutely count.

 

Your creativity doesn’t need a grand comeback. Sometimes it starts with a walk, a doodle, or a note you mail to somebody you love.

Which three ideas are you going to try this week?