5 Creative Thinking Exercises to Elevate Creativity While Working from Home

Working from home has resulted in massive routine changes for many people. And although working remotely can certainly have its benefits, human connection and serendipity are not one of them. Research indicates that the distractions commonly associated with work environments help bring inspiration and get creative tasks done more effectively. Commuting and working outside of one’s home previously provided people with inspiration and ideas that subconsciously fueled their creativity. 

However, as working remotely becomes more common, people have been a newfound awareness that creative thinking is becoming a lot more challenging to accomplish in these isolated conditions. As we continue to lose out on the experiences that previously helped make creative thinking easier, we must adapt to new ways that inspire us and help us factually meditate with creativity. 

Working remotely provides creative thinkers the opportunity to discover precisely what helps to inspire divergent thinking and ideation. The beauty of creativity is that it does not rely on others; it comes from the individual; you just have to challenge yourself in new ways to re-discover it. 

For all the creative thinkers still adapting to having to work from home alone, check out these five creative exercises perfect for inspiring creativity from the comfort of your home:

1. Complete the Incomplete Figure Test 

Exercise Instructions: Draw a small, simple scribble, like a half-circle or loop. Next, find a way to turn this scribble into a full drawing with as much detail as possible.

Exercise benefit: Humans are creatures of habit, and so are our thought processes. The incomplete figure test is used to help us break out of these natural thought processes. We become used to thinking in specific linear ways, and this exercise can be a way of breaking out of that mold. Our brain is conditioned to see a scribble, yet our minds must then work to build connections and turn this preconceived doodle into a recognizable figure. This exercise can expose you to new ways of thinking that often prove to be much more dynamic.

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2. Write A Dictionary Story

Exercise Instructions: Randomly select a word from the dictionary. Use the word you chose, the word above it, and the word below it to create a short story from the beginning, middle to end. 

Exercise benefit: Writing a story from these random words can help creative thinkers develop non-linear thinking patterns. This exercise works to help people find connections between three completely random words. By working to find this connection, you can improve your ability to make unrelated connections in a way that combines them into a cohesive idea. Writing this story essentially works to exercise the divergent thinking skills needed to produce truly original ideas. 

3. Make Something New from Something Used

Exercise Instructions: Take two different products and find a way to combine them into one new, innovative product. Plus, design a target market for the new product you have created.

Exercise benefit: Although creating something out of nothing can be difficult, that is essentially the essence of creativity. Making something new from two existing products allows people to develop and strengthen their divergent thinking skills. This exercise is perfect for getting into the kind of mindset needed to make unclear connections. Divergent thinking can be a backbone of creativity, and this exercise allows people to understand how to turn unconventional relationships into creative ideas.

4. Eidetic Landscaping 

Exercise Instructions:

1. Imagine your dream destination landscape, fictional or real.

2. On a sheet of paper, draw the landscape you imagine from memory alone.

3. Try to fill your landscape with as much detail as possible.

Exercise benefit: Eidetic Landscaping helps creative thinkers envision what they want to create. Daydreaming, imagination, and ideation are all interrelated skills that work together to make creative thinking possible. By imagining something in your head and working to bring it out onto paper, people can learn to take the ideas in their heads and manifest them into the real world. This exercise helps people become more familiar with the creative process by understanding what it takes to bring an idea out into the real world.

5. Thirty Circles and Counting

Exercise Instructions: Draw 30 even-sized circles on a sheet of paper. The goal is to turn as many of the blank circles as possible into recognizable, typically round objects (think clock faces, Earth, etc.)

Exercise benefit: 30 Circles is meant to exercise your intuition and ideation skills. Because the exercise gives people 30 blank slates, people are forced to go with their instincts and fill each circle with the first initial idea that comes to mind. Typically, people tend to be self-critical of their actions; however, judgment can be one major killer of creativity. In this way, the exercise helps people get more comfortable being creative in less judgmental or critical ways. The result of the 30 circles can show people that trusting their instincts can almost always lead to creative thinking.

If you and your creative thinking skills benefited from these exercises, consider looking into the Original Creative Thinking Journal, a guided journal specifically designed to increase your creativity and build more productive habits through over 50 creative thinking exercises.