Feel stuck? Try one of these low-effort rituals to unlock fresh ideas and inspiration.

Whether you’re building a brand, designing, journaling, or just trying to see the world differently, creativity isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you build. These small, repeatable habits can help shake you out of a rut and reconnect with that spark.

Here’s a countdown of seven simple things you can do to feel more creative, focused, and inspired no matter what your craft is.

7. Listen to Something You’ve Never Heard Before

Not your regular playlist. Not the podcast you always queue. Choose something completely unfamiliar — a jazz album from the 70s, a spoken word artist, a soundtrack in another language. It disrupts your usual input and forces your brain to listen differently.

6. Keep a “No Pressure” Notebook

This isn’t a journal or a planner. It’s a private space for unfinished thoughts, fragments, overheard phrases, doodles, and ideas you’d never post. No rules, no structure. The freedom to jot without judgment can often lead to your most surprising insights.

5. Take a Walk Without a Destination

Not for exercise. Not for errands. Just movement and observation. Walk slowly. Notice textures, light, colors, and sounds. This mindless movement makes space for ideas to surface. It’s where connections form without effort.

4. Change Your Inputs

If you’re always scrolling the same apps, reading the same style of content, or following the same people, your ideas will stay in the same loop. Read a magazine you’ve never picked up. Follow a niche account. Watch a short documentary on something completely unrelated to your field.

3. Give Yourself an Unreasonable Limit

Write a paragraph in five words. Sketch something in 30 seconds. Take a photo using only one object. These kinds of odd restrictions force your brain to work differently. The less freedom you have, the more inventive you get.

2. Talk to Someone Outside Your Bubble

Creativity often lives in perspective. A short conversation with someone who thinks differently — a friend in another field, a younger sibling, even a stranger online — can jolt your thinking and reframe how you approach a problem or project.

1. Create Something That Isn’t Meant to Be Good

Seriously. Try to make something bad on purpose — a terrible poem, a chaotic collage, a dish with clashing flavors. When perfection isn’t the goal, the pressure falls away. And when the pressure falls away, your real ideas start to show up.

Final Thought

Creativity doesn’t always come from waiting. It comes from showing up, getting curious, and letting go of the need to get it right. Try one of these habits this week, not to be brilliant, but simply to keep your creative muscles moving. The rest will follow.