Ten exercises that make you more creative than 96% of people
Creativity training is plausible, but the evidence is usually indirect. Most exercise ideas in this area are not magic formulas; they are structured ways to increase idea generation, attention, and cognitive flexibility. That means they may help people produce more varied responses, but the effect depends on context, motivation, sleep, stress, and how much effort someone puts in. It is safer to think of them as practice tools rather than guaranteed upgrades.
The biggest value may be in reducing friction. Simple prompts such as free writing, role-play, or combining unrelated concepts can lower the pressure to โbe originalโ on demand. For many people, that matters more than talent alone: creativity often stalls when self-criticism is high or when a problem feels too narrow. Small exercises can create a low-stakes entry point that makes starting easier, which is where real momentum often begins.
There is also a useful distinction between novelty and usefulness. Generating many ideas is only one part of creativity; selecting, testing, and refining them is the other. Exercises that encourage quantity can be helpful, but they work best when paired with a habit of editing and iteration. In practice, the goal is not just unusual thinking, but better thinking that survives contact with a real task.
For readers trying to apply this in everyday life, consistency matters more than intensity. A brief routine done regularly is more likely to stick than an occasional โcreative workout.โ The most sustainable approach is to pick one or two methods that suit the task at hand, then repeat them until they become automatic. That makes creativity less like inspiration and more like a trainable behaviour.
Creativity, which is oneโs ability to make connections between ideas and bits of information, is becoming THE skill of the modern world.
Many will find themselves part of the burgeoning โknowledge economy,โ which greatly rewards creativity and productivity.
Setting ourselves apart from automated and robotic entities will also be vital; this is where creative skills will again set you apart.
But how can we hone our creative muscles and get great at creativity?
Here are some ideas for exercises you can do:
Mind mapping.
Visually laying out your ideas and how they connect to one another works so well because it aligns with how the brain makes connections via our neurons.
So by mind-mapping, you are tapping into our innate creativity and emphasising its power.
Word association.
This is where you identify a topic or theme and list out all the words you can think of that are associated with this topic.
Youโre working out the part of your brain that scours and collects relevant information.
You can take this further and bring two random words or ideas together (or businesses, for example) and find new creative hybrids when two ideas or words are merged.
Free writing.
Give yourself time to explore your mind through the power of writing.
You donโt need to write anything specific.
Just let go and write whatever comes to mind.
This isnโt only for writers.
This can be a cathartic release and loosens you up for new insights that subsequently come to mind.
Doodling or sketching.
Studies show that people who doodle are often better at grasping new concepts, developing creative ideas and staying focused.
Drawing like this activates the creative part of the brain, so get doodling as an exercise to boost your thinking power.
Journaling.
You can use your journaling practice to explore ideas via free writing and brainstorming.
You can also strengthen your creative muscle by simply offloading some of your concerns and writing through solutions.
This is a release and exercises your mind for a double whammy of self-therapy and creativity.
Brainstorming.
You can write exhaustive lists of ideas based on specific problems or topics to prompt new creative thoughts that otherwise may have been absent without list-making.
This can be done alone, but itโs also interesting to see what happens in a group setting, where several ideas from different people are pooled and combined.
Random word uses.
Choose a randomly picked word or household object and devise as many different uses as possible for such a word or item.
What about the word โspider?โ
What problems do you or others have that you can find a solution for spurred on by this word?
Maybe the spiderโs web hints at creating your own web of mentors?
Role-playing.
Get together with friends and create hypothetical scenarios that prompt taking on specific roles.
Thereโs something very powerful about adopting a โpersonalityโ outside the one weโve assumed for ourselves.
You can be anyone you like when you adopt new roles. This is a highly creative act.
Scavenger hunt.
Create a list of items to find and photograph when out on an adventure.
This trains the mind to be more aware, which is vital for creativity and making connections.
It could even be one thing, like finding all the traffic cones on a specific urban walk.
Or you could set the challenge of finding 20 items you can use in a story, for example.
Improv games.
Improvisation, whether in a comedy context or not, is a superb method to train the creative mind.
In improvisation, you continually look for ways to make things work so that a scene or conversation flows.
This is the essence of creativity: continuously evading blocks and looking for ways through.
Improv trains this in the context of human play and direct interaction.
Have fun!
๐
Do you want to be mentally stronger than most people?
If you enjoyed this, you will love my free illustrated booklet for you:
โThe 12 Habits of Mentally Strong People.โ
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