Every creative person requires certain elements to be able to thrive and produce content that is both original and somewhat inspired. Filmmaking in all its forms is no different, and in order to maintain that creative mindset primed at its optimum, certain habits to get into regularly will achieve just that.

In this post on how to revive your creativity we’ll briefly cover a few tips to ensure your inventive juices flow constantly and effortlessly.

Get Amongst Nature

There is just something very organic about the combination of nature with the creative mind. Whether it’s getting in touch with those earthy vibes, the serenity, or just admiring natural beauty and marvelling about how it all came together, being out in nature fuels the mind and the ingenious spirit like just about nothing else I know.

There is something very grounding about being out in the wilderness, especially alone. It reduces stress, clears the mind of clutter (which definitely hampers creativity) and often produces some great ideas for future projects.

Surround Yourself With Other Creatives

This doesn’t necessarily mean surrounding yourself with other filmmakers. In fact, associating with people involved in a variety of other creative fields can actually expand your mind and open your eyes to new ideas, thoughts and ways of doing things. Creative people are inspiring and regularly mixing with different creative types is really an huge investment in your own creative processes.

Spend Time Alone

Often our best ideas come to us when things are quiet. No one is talking to us, there are no distractions. Being alone give us the opportunity to clear our heads and really get immersed into creative thinking and problem solving. Being alone puts us in tune into our inner-self and our intuition.

Meditate

This tends to go hand in hand with alone time. Being able to meditate and do it regularly once again clears the head of thoughts and clutter, relieves stress, opens up the subconscious and is possibly one of the very best ways to really get in touch with our creative side.

Do Something New

This is a great way to both expand the mind and get yourself out of a creative rut. At least once a week or so figure out something different you can do that you don’t normally do, something to break the routine and monotony. It doesn’t really matter what it is, so long as it’s either something you’ve never done before, or something you haven’t done for a very long time.

Set Yourself New Challenges

Step outside the comfort zone by setting yourself some new challenges, either in your filmmaking or other areas of your life. Nothing makes a person grow quicker than stepping outside the norm. The confidence and new ideas that can come from successfully completely a new challenge are enormous and it’s something all creatives should aspire to.

Always Take Notes

Whether it’s on a notepad the old fashioned way, or in the notes on your smartphone or tablet, write down all manner of random things that catch your attention. You just never know what could spark the next great idea. Sometimes good ideas can evolve from the most obscure or unexpected sources.

Maintain a Positive Mindset

Positivity really is the key to success in just about anything, and having a positive disposition certainly goes a long way towards guaranteeing your creative juices don’t dry up. Positive attracts positivity, and added to this you just never know who or what you might attract to you that can help take your filmmaking to the next level.

Allow Yourself to Daydream

Daydreaming allows you to tap into your subconscious mind as well as being a great visualisation tool. All manner of ideas can be conceptualised while in the daydream process. Thoughts will flow through your mind like a movie, and as a filmmaker, that’s exactly what you want to happen.

Take Breaks

Just working and working, doing task after task, is a sure way to kill your creative genius. Just “getting it done” isn’t the answer to creating a great film. Actually taking breaks and giving yourself a rest from your work is the surest way to revive your body and mind, enabling you to really put your heart and soul into your film when you return to work on it some more. Too much of anything is never a good thing, no matter how much you might love the film industry.

Get Regular Exercise

Exercise is not just good for the body, but it’s also great for the mind. The brain releases more of the feel good endorphins when we exercise regularly. The more we feel good mentally the better our creativity flows.

Listen To a Variety of Music

Music is emotion and emotion plays a huge role in the creative process. Listening to your favourite music is sure to inspire, but allowing yourself to indulge in music you perhaps don’t normally listen to will really open your mind and take you to another, more unfamiliar place.

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