Creativity

About creativity

What it is, why it happens and what helps. Contents:

• What creativity is
• Everyone is creative
• How we have understood creativity
• Creativity around the world
• Creativity and the brain
• The four stages of a creative idea
• What the research shows
• Walking, nature and movement
• Rest, sleep and daydreaming
• Morning pages and artist dates
• Idea tools for work and life
• Moving through creative blocks
• Flow and deep creative work
• Building a creative habit
• Creativity at every age
• A simple creative week
• How self-help methods fit in
• FAQs

What creativity is

Psychologists usually describe creativity as the ability to produce ideas or things that are both original and useful. That covers the great works of art, science and invention, but also everyday creativity: a new recipe, a clever fix for a broken shelf, a funny birthday card, a better way to organise your week or a kind solution to a family argument. Creativity is not only about the arts. Engineers, gardeners, teachers, doctors, parents and entrepreneurs use it all the time. It is a way of thinking that combines curiosity, imagination and playfulness with the patience to try things out and improve them. You can explore related topics in our Wellness hub.

Everyone is creative

Many people say “I’m just not creative”, often because of a remark at school or a comparison with someone gifted. Researchers James Kaufman and Ronald Beghetto describe creativity as a spectrum, from “mini-c”, the personal insights we have when learning something new, through “little-c”, everyday creativity, to “Pro-c” and “Big-C”, the work of professionals and the rare creators who change a field. Most of what makes life richer happens in the mini-c and little-c range, and anyone can grow there. Sir Ken Robinson, whose TED talk on creativity in schools is one of the most watched of all time, argued that we are all born with huge creative potential, and that the task is to nurture it rather than educate it out of ourselves.

How we have understood creativity

The ancient Greeks spoke of the Muses, goddesses who inspired poets and musicians, and the Romans of a person’s genius, a guiding spirit that brought ideas. Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Big Magic, has suggested that this old idea can be freeing, because it takes the pressure off the individual. During the Renaissance the idea of the creative individual grew, and by the 19th century the Romantic poets celebrated the inspired artist. Scientific study began in earnest in 1950, when the psychologist J. P. Guilford urged researchers to study creativity and described divergent thinking, the ability to generate many different answers to an open question. E. Paul Torrance went on to develop creativity tests used around the world, and in the 1990s Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi interviewed nearly a hundred exceptional creators for his book Creativity and described the state of absorption he called flow.

Creativity around the world

Every culture has its own creative traditions and ideas about where inspiration comes from. In Japan, the aesthetic of wabi-sabi finds beauty in imperfection, and the art of kintsugi repairs broken pottery with gold so that the cracks become part of the story. Indian classical musicians improvise within the framework of a raga, showing that structure and freedom can go together. West African griots keep history alive through improvised storytelling and song. Aboriginal Australian artists have painted the land and its stories for tens of thousands of years. Jazz in New Orleans, flamenco in Andalusia and the street art of São Paulo all grew from communities sharing and building on each other’s ideas. Across these traditions, creativity is often a shared, joyful activity rather than a lonely struggle.

Creativity and the brain

There is no single “creative side” of the brain. Instead, creative thinking seems to involve several brain networks working together. One network is active when we daydream, remember and imagine, and helps generate ideas. Another helps us focus, evaluate and refine them. A third helps decide what deserves our attention. Creative people seem to be good at switching between these modes: letting the mind wander freely, then focusing to shape the best ideas. This is why both relaxed, open states and focused work matter, and why the best ideas often come in the shower, on a walk or just as you drift off to sleep.

The four stages of a creative idea

In 1926 the English writer Graham Wallas described four stages that many creators still recognise. Preparation is gathering information and working hard on the problem. Incubation is stepping away and letting the mind work in the background. Illumination is the “aha” moment when an idea suddenly appears. Verification is testing and polishing the idea. Knowing these stages can be reassuring. When you feel stuck, you may simply be in incubation, and a walk, a rest or a night’s sleep may be the most useful next step.

What the research shows

A growing body of research shows that creativity responds to simple changes in how we live and work. At Stanford University, Marily Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz found that people came up with more creative ideas while walking than while sitting, whether they walked on a treadmill facing a blank wall or outdoors, and the boost carried on for a short time after they sat down again. [1] In a study of hikers on multi-day trips in the wilderness, people who had spent four days in nature, away from their devices, scored around 50% higher on a test of creative problem-solving than people about to set out. [2]

Taking a break helps too, especially if the break involves an easy task that lets your mind wander. In one experiment, people who did an undemanding task during a break came up with more ideas on problems they had seen before than people who rested or did a demanding task. [4] Meditation can help as well: in a study from Leiden University, open-monitoring meditation, where you notice whatever arises without focusing on one thing, supported divergent thinking. [5] Music matters: people who listened to happy, upbeat classical music came up with more varied ideas than people who worked in silence. [3] And in a study from the Paris Brain Institute, people who spent around 15 seconds in the very first stage of sleep were nearly three times as likely to discover a hidden rule in a maths problem, an idea inspired by Thomas Edison’s habit of napping with a ball in his hand. [6]

Walking, nature and movement

Many great thinkers were keen walkers. Charles Darwin paced his “thinking path” at Down House, Beethoven walked daily with a notebook, and Steve Jobs held walking meetings. The research above suggests a simple habit: when you need ideas, walk. Take a notebook or record voice notes, and let your mind roam. Walks in green spaces add the benefits of nature, which also helps calm repetitive thinking. If you can, plan an occasional day or weekend outdoors with your phone switched off. Dancing, swimming, yoga and other movement can also loosen up the mind and shake off the feeling of being stuck.

Rest, sleep and daydreaming

Rest is not the opposite of creativity. It is part of it. Sleep helps the brain make new connections between memories, and many people wake with the answer to a problem they took to bed. Salvador Dalí and Thomas Edison both used the drowsy moments before sleep for ideas, holding an object that would drop and wake them just as they drifted off. You can try a gentler version: think about a creative question as you relax in a chair, and keep a notebook nearby to jot down any images or ideas that appear. Daydreaming, often seen as wasted time, is when the mind’s imagination network is most active. Give yourself unscheduled time each week to let your mind wander. Our sleep guide has ideas for resting well.

Morning pages and artist dates

Julia Cameron’s 1992 book The Artist’s Way has helped millions of people recover their creativity, and its two core tools are simple. Morning pages are three pages of longhand writing done first thing each morning, about anything at all. They are not meant to be good writing. Their purpose is to clear the mind of worries and chatter so that ideas have room to come through. Artist dates are a weekly solo outing to do something that delights or interests you, such as visiting a gallery, browsing a hardware shop, watching birds or exploring a new neighbourhood. Cameron describes them as filling the creative well. Many people find that after a few weeks of both, ideas begin to flow more easily and they feel braver about making things.

Idea tools for work and life

Brainstorming. Developed by the advertising executive Alex Osborn, brainstorming separates generating ideas from judging them. Set a timer, aim for a large number of ideas and include wild ones. Writing ideas alone first and then sharing them in a group often works well.

Mind mapping. Popularised by Tony Buzan, a mind map starts with a central theme and branches out into related ideas, using colour and images.

SCAMPER. A checklist for improving something that exists: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate and Reverse.

Six Thinking Hats. Edward de Bono’s method asks a group to look at a problem through six lenses: facts, feelings, caution, benefits, new ideas and process.

Constraints. Limits can spark creativity. Dr Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham using just 50 different words after a bet with his publisher. Try giving yourself a time limit, a small budget or a set of only three colours.

Steal like an artist. Austin Kleon encourages learning from the work you love by copying, remixing and combining influences until your own style appears.

Moving through creative blocks

Most creative people go through dry spells. Common causes include perfectionism, fear of judgement, tiredness and simply trying too hard. A few gentle approaches help. Lower the bar: aim for a “messy first draft” or a deliberately bad drawing. Make it small: write one sentence or sketch for five minutes. Change your input: read, listen and look at work outside your usual field. Change your setting: move to a café, a library or the garden. Talk it through with a friend. And remember Elizabeth Gilbert’s advice to keep showing up and doing your part, whether or not inspiration arrives that day. Our guides to procrastination, overthinking and burnout may help if a block is part of a bigger pattern.

Flow and deep creative work

Flow is the state of complete absorption where time seems to disappear and the work feels effortless. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi found that it tends to happen when a task is challenging enough to stretch you but not so hard that it overwhelms you, when you have clear goals and when you get quick feedback on how it is going. To invite flow, protect a block of time, silence notifications, choose one task and begin with a small warm-up. Many artists, writers and musicians describe flow as the most rewarding part of creating. Our Flow State guide explores it in depth.

Building a creative habit

The choreographer Twyla Tharp, in The Creative Habit, argues that creativity is a habit built through routine rather than a gift that strikes at random. Pick a regular time and place to create, even if it is only 15 minutes. Keep your tools ready so starting is easy. Track your sessions on a calendar and celebrate a streak. Share your work with a friend or online group for encouragement. In one study, new habits took a median of 66 days to become automatic, so be patient. [7]

Creativity at every age

Children are naturally creative, and play is how they explore. Giving them open-ended materials such as blocks, clay, paper and dressing-up clothes, along with free time, supports that. Adults benefit from play too: improv classes, doodling, Lego and playful hobbies all keep the mind flexible. Creativity also continues into later life. Many artists did some of their best work in their 70s and 80s, and community choirs, art classes and writing groups bring joy and connection at every age. If you have been away from creating for years, it is never too late to begin again.

A simple creative week

Every morning. Morning pages, or ten minutes of free writing or sketching.

Most days. A 20-minute walk without headphones, with a notebook in your pocket.

Three times a week. A protected 30-minute creative session on a project you care about.

Once a week. An artist date: a gallery, a park, a new café or a market.

At weekends. Time in nature, or simply unscheduled time to daydream and play.

How self-help methods fit in

Several methods on this site support creativity. Flow State helps you set up conditions for deep absorption. Meditation and mindfulness help you notice ideas as they arise and quieten the harsh inner voice. The Raikov Effect uses imagination to tap into talent, and visualisation helps you see a finished piece before you begin. Binaural beats and sound healing are used by some people to reach relaxed, open states of mind. You can see every method we cover in the full list above.

Frequently asked questions

What is creativity?

The ability to come up with ideas or things that are new and useful, from art and inventions to everyday problem-solving.

Can you learn to be more creative?

Yes. Creativity grows with practice and with habits such as walking, free writing, rest and time in nature.

Does walking make you more creative?

In Stanford studies, people came up with more creative ideas while walking than while sitting. [1]

What are morning pages?

Three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing done first thing each morning, from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

How do I get over a creative block?

Lower the bar, start small, take a walk, change your surroundings and feed yourself new ideas from outside your usual field.

Why do I get ideas in the shower?

Relaxed, easy activities let the mind wander, which helps fresh ideas surface. [4]

Does nature boost creativity?

Hikers scored about 50% higher on a creativity test after four days in nature away from devices. [2]

The best videos on creativity

Hand-picked and checked one by one: TED talks from Elizabeth Gilbert, Ken Robinson and Tim Harford, Julia Cameron, Austin Kleon, Rick Rubin and TED-Ed.

Where creativity comes from

Everyday creative habits

Flow and the creative life

Books on creativity

Free resources

Experts to follow

Get help

A creative coach or a class can help you build structure and finish projects.

Find a therapist or counsellor

• US and Canada: Psychology Today (US) and (Canada) directories.
• UK: BACP therapist directory.
• Australia: APS Find a Psychologist, and Relationships Australia for couple and family services.
• Elsewhere, including Europe and India: ask your doctor or local health service for a referral, and check that anyone you see is registered or accredited where you live.

This hub is for information, not a substitute for medical or psychological care.

Sources

1. Oppezzo & Schwartz (2014), Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 40(4):1142-1152
2. Atchley, Strayer & Atchley (2012), Creativity in the wild: improving creative reasoning through immersion in natural settings, PLoS ONE 7(12):e51474
3. Ritter & Ferguson (2017), Happy creativity: listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking, PLoS ONE 12(9):e0182210
4. Baird et al. (2012), Inspired by distraction: mind wandering facilitates creative incubation, Psychological Science 23(10):1117-1122
5. Colzato, Ozturk & Hommel (2012), Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking, Frontiers in Psychology 3:116
6. Lacaux et al. (2021), Sleep onset is a creative sweet spot, Science Advances 7(50):eabj5866
7. Lally et al. (2010), How are habits formed: modelling habit formation in the real world, European Journal of Social Psychology 40(6):998-1009

Written by Saj Ali. Last updated 31 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.