Creativity and productivity are two of the most important qualities that you can have as an individual. You might be thinking, “I’m not creative or productive at all!” Well, you may just need to take a step back and figure out what exactly is holding you back from feeling more creative and productive.

There could be many different reasons for this such as stress, lack of exercise, dieting habits, cash flow, etc. This blog will provide some tips on how to feel more creative and productive to help you shift your emotional state so that your day doesn’t go by without doing anything worthwhile.

The Power of Optimism

As a creative business owner, I know what it feels like to go through a roller coaster of emotions. To worry about work and cash flow, to feel demotivated when it feels like the entire world is working but you, and to deal with turn downs from pitching and budget cuts to cancellations.

One of the best ways to protect your mind, creativity, and productivity is to learn optimism.

Here are some ways you can train your brain to be optimistic:

• Learn a new skill. Embrace the learning process and stay patient with yourself as you learn it.
• Find something in nature that inspires or motivates you. Nature is an excellent way to ground oneself, allowing you to feel more hopeful about life in general.
• Ask other people how they are doing. This will help you realise that the struggle may not be yours alone.

Troubles with Negative Thinking

It’s important that you try not to fall deeper into a darker emotional state. It’s all very well being a little pessimistic but too much negative thinking can become troublesome for your wellbeing.

Constantly allowing negative thinking to take over your thoughts leads you into a place of learned helplessness. It affects how you react to events around you and the stories that you tell yourself matter. The way you explain the situations you find yourself in will determine how you energize yourself.

To give up is to believe that the current or future events are permanent, that the negative situation will persist.

Embracing Change

My friend, embrace the inevitability of change in all areas of your life and business. Everyone, me included, has had to face pivoting somewhere along their life journey, and the ironic thing is, after it’s happened, most people say it was the best thing to happen to them.

This is my third pivot and each time it’s given me a little more strength and knowledge about myself to keep moving forward. Being optimistic about the future and believing that the universe has your back is key!

Numerous studies have shown that optimists, relative to pessimists, live healthier and happier lives. It is important that you stay hopeful and maintain optimism, even in the face of despondency.

Check out the Importance of Being Flexible

Staying flexible goes a long way in improving creativity and motivation. It is also important to remember that the best days are just around the corner, no matter how difficult it might be now or will become in the future.

One thing to remember is that most people are more likely to regret actions not taken rather than actions taken, regardless of the outcome.

Questions to ask yourself to stay solution-focused and to keep moving forward:

1. Ask yourself: if this were happening to someone else what positive advice would you offer?
2. What do you want to achieve today?
3. How will you know you’ve made progress?
4. What are the benefits of solving your current challenges?
5. What’s been going well for you?
6. What resources and skills do you have to guide yourself forward?

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to getting more creative or productive in your life, this post is for you. I wrote about the root cause of my lack of creativity and productivity so that you can follow suit with what’s been working for me. It might be beneficial if you take some time now to figure out what motivates you and demotivates you. This way you can address those needs logically and rationally.

And hey – if all else fails, reach out! You’ll find a ton of resources here on how to get started as well as content from other people who have experienced something similar too so why not?

Check out this article on how to increase your productivity by 500% and boost your motivation.

Love and Gratitude,

JJ