Daydreaming is linked to creativity.The greatest insights come when we stop trying to be so purposeful.

Stare Out the Window

Dreaming is a source of inspiration because your brain is working even when you’re asleep.If you can’t seem to break through your brainstorming session, take a nap.

Take a Nap

Completing mindless chores gets you up and moving and helps make room for inspiration to flow.

Do Your Chores

Washing dishes mindfully by smelling the soap and feeling the shape of the dishes can increase mental stimulation.

Wash the Dishes

Walking increases creativity.We don't need to use too much effort into walking, we just need to leave the mind free to wander.

Go for a Walk

People who are concentrating too hard will sometimes block the creative processes necessary for problem-solving.A drink or two might just help calm your brain.

Drink

Taking a shower is relaxing. It is also distracting, which helps your subconscious do its work.

Take a Shower

Music can put you into a “mind-wandering” state that’s perfectly conducive to coming up with new and creative ideas.

Listen to Music

Recently, I was cleaning up after lunch, struggling to come up with article pitches for our afternoon editorial meeting. I walked around the office throwing away leftovers, putting dishes in the dishwasher, and wiping my desk of crumbs, frustrated with myself.

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Personal Development

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Health

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Problem Solving

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Time Management

8 Scientific Ways to Get Inspired and Be Creative

New people don't know your old stories, so you'll have to revisit your existing thoughts.The new perspectives will help to think differently.

Socialize Outside Your Normal Circles

Books are great for creating new thoughts and stimulating good ideas.Even if you cannot make the time for a book, spend time browsing a bookstore for plenty of thought stimulation.

Randomly Surf the Web

A journal is a great way to structure and develop ideas.Add the practice of finishing every entry with: My new idea for the day ...

Keep a Regular Journal

In order to get your brain to think in new and creative ways, set aside time to do something where you think differently: for example, people watching.

Engage in Observation Sessions

Take ten minutes to come up with about 40 ideas on a specific topic or problem. Do this with a partner. You will come up with at least two or three gems for your list.

Use Structured Exercises

You need a quiet space where you can clear your mind of thoughts and concerns and focus on your future.

Meditate

What makes the difference between a good idea and a great idea? Good ideas come along all the time and help people solve minor problems in work and daily life. Great ideas appear a little less frequently and require a little more work to execute.

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Reading & Writing

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Creativity

7 Ways to Generate Great Ideas

Select the area that you would like to generate the idea in.  Define it clearly and be as specific as possible.Is it blog post ideas, local business ideas?

Step 1. Choose an area

An idea is a connection between two concepts.Steve Jobs said that creativity is just connecting things. When you understand that and think of ideas in that way, the process of generating ideas will seem a lot less intimidating.

What ideas are

To generate great ideas, look around for clues. <ul><li>You can deduce the reasons why something is successful by asking the relevant people why they like it.</li><li>If it is an unexpectedly successful blog post, read the comments. </li><li>Observe. People often are not able to accurately articulate why they like something.</li></ul>

Step 3. Understand why they succeed

Pick out the best ideas and start analyzing them. Eliminate until you have about 10 ideas left.Use the great ideas and see how they perform.

Step. 5. Pick the best ideas

Set roughly 45 minutes aside, where you only write down ideas about the area that you have chosen. Don't worry about how bad the ideas seem. Just write them down. Do this for about 10 days.

Step 4. Have an idea quota

Look for surprisingly successful things. Look for the things that look out-of-place in the area that you've chosen, but are performing above expectations.

Step 2. Find the unexpected successes 

The strangest thing about the process of generating ideas, is that there seems to be a commonly held belief that it is some sort of mystical process, one that is only reserved for the likes of 'visionaries' and mad scientists.

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Productivity

How to Consistently Come Up with Great Ideas

A variety of environments sparks a higher quality of ideas.Try to brainstorm at different times and locations: for instance, when you wake up one day, at lunch the next, and right before bed the day after that.

Vary where and when you think

The most valuable ideas are ones that solve problems for people.Think about what problems people have that you’d like to solve.

Focus on ideas that solve problems

To get the most value out of what you consume, it helps to have a mode of output: Talk about it, write about it or condense it into a tweet.

Output

The process of coming up with questions to ask and listening to people's answers can lead to new ideas.It trains us to look for different viewpoints and layers to things.

Ask more questions

Recognize ideas that constantly come to you and develop a system to capture them.Carry around a notebook, leave yourself a voicemail, send an email or use any other way to capture the idea.

Capture ideas when they come

To improve your idea generation, zoom out your perspective to a macro level. For example, on a micro-level, a Billy Joel concert may just be a fun way to spend a night. On a macro level, it is packed with ideas about how to connect with an audience.

Expand your viewpoint

The process of communicating an idea helps to clarify it and see it in a new way. Express your own ideas out loud to somebody.

Speak your ideas

There are infinite answers to every challenge.Seek out different ways people answer the same question. Consume conflicting ideas to help you see the bigger picture.

Study opposite takes on the same idea

Idea generation is fueled by consumption, not creativity.Creativity is just connecting things. The more things we have to connect, the better our ideas will become.Consider the quantity and quality of things you consume, like books, movies, TV shows, articles and people you interact with.

Consider what you consume

How to train yourself to generate better ideas. It's not hard to come up with a great idea. What's hard is to develop the habits that enable us to come up with great ideas. The extent to which we incorporate these habits into our lives ultimately determines the quality of our ideas.

9 Habits That Make It Easy To Come Up With Great Ideas

In disciplines with which we are familiar, we tend to approach our projects with a sense of our approach already established.Explore novel experiences that require close attention and intensely focused thought.

Get in touch with your “beginner’s mind”

In a business or creative setting, a monoculture has its own risks, as we habitually turn to the same sources, people and habits for new ideas. Over time, these ideas can take on a similar, predictable taste. You can build a cross pollination habit through simple, regular practices.

Cross pollination

Biographies and how-to guides from other fields can be wonderful sources of inspiration.What might you gain from reading about and emulating the morning routine of a favorite athlete?

Read about creative lives

Go on a weekly "artist date", where you feed your inspiration by looking at something artistically nourishing and stimulating.For example, If you are a writer, you might go for a walk in an arboretum on Monday mornings.

Make a date with yourself

Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm, stall. In a culture that demands constant innovation and disruption, it can feel like our imaginations become worn down through constant calls for the new. To fight such burnout, how can we refresh our eyes? How can we see things in new and inspiring ways?

8 Scientific Ways to Get Inspired and Be Creative

7 Ways to Generate Great Ideas

How to Consistently Come Up with Great Ideas

It's time to Read like a Pro.

9 Habits That Make It Easy To Come Up With Great Ideas

It's time to
Read like a Pro.