Skip to content

10 Exercises That Will Improve Your Creativity

Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney
— 2 min read
The Innovators Studio podcast cover art: 10 Exercises That Will Improve Your Creativity

Creativity is one of the most important skills you can have. It unlocks the door to game-changing ideas. Although some people have it naturally, some exercises help in improving creativity.

10 Exercises That Will Improve Your Creativity

1.     Take a walk outside: Breaking free of your work, moving around, and observing your surroundings can give you mental clarity and boost creativity. 

2.     Write a list of things that annoy you: You can identify new patterns by identifying these things. This exercise can lead to new ideas previously unseen. 

3.     Play with the lyrics to your favorite song: Playing with the lyrics of your favorite song opens your mind to new possibilities and breaks you out of your comfort zone. 

4.     Create a video montage of your day: This can be a fun way to document your life and see how your creativity manifests itself. Trying different techniques and making edits will improve your creativity skills.

5.     Write about what scares you and why it scares you: Some creatives sharpen creativity muscles by writing about what scares them and why (or writing about what doesn't scare them). Exploring scary things can open new avenues that would otherwise be closed.   

6.     Play games that require creativity: Many creatives play games such as chess or scrabble. These games sharpen the mind and improve problem-solving. 

7.     Do something that makes you laugh: If you're struggling with a creativity block, you can watch funny videos or do other things that release endorphins.

8.     Draw something you see every day but don't pay attention to: When we see the same things repeatedly, they become mundane. If we examined the objects and scenes that make up our everyday lives, we'd be surprised at how much creativity hides in plain sight.

9.     Exercise your brain with a puzzle: Puzzles exercise the creative side of your brain by forcing you to come up with new ideas and solutions. Doing this can help you break out of a rut.

10.  Make crafts out of old things lying around the house: Crafts helps you tap into your creativity and improves your ideation.

To know more about these creativity exercises, listen to this week's show: 10 Exercises That Will Improve Your Creativity.

[irp posts="4392" name="Subscribe to Podcast"]

Past ShowsStudio SessionsCreative Exercisescreativity

Phil McKinney Twitter

Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.


Related Posts

How To Build Innovation Teams (My Playbook From HP and CableLabs)

How to build innovation teams, from the playbook I used at HP and CableLabs: culture before hiring, the right roles, the Idea Fund, and the right metrics

Image of how to build innovation teams. Portions are generated by AI.

How To Improve Your Analytical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking judges a claim. Analytical thinking works the problem: break it apart, find what is really driving it, and test your read before acting.

How To Improve Your Analytical Thinking Skills

Never Forget: 25 Years Remembering Charles Falkenberg and His Family

First written September 11, 2008. Updated for the 25th anniversary, September 11, 2026.

Charles Falkenberg and his famly