Creativity in Lockdown
Creativity is not one of my strengths, but I really admire creative people and enjoy creative activities. I am usually inspired by experiences, mine or others. I believe that experiences are probably the richest inspiration source. A never-ending source.
Luckily, I have a job that constantly feeds me with inspiration. Working in HR., and especially in recruitment and consultation, is an incredible opportunity to socialize, learn peoples’ stories and experiences, pleasant and unpleasant, get inspired by those to become better, to learn new things and apply them to myself, to give more (or less sometimes), to have deep conversations with people I don’t really know and finally build relationships.
The past weeks and for at least 2 more, I’ve been (and I will be) working from home, just like the rest of the team and many other teams due to the pandemic. I’ve been noticing that my creativity (the little I have) diminishes, day by day so I needed to find ways to keep the levels up. We still have a long way to go!
So, I sat down with myself and really thought about my interests; my hobbies that I have forgotten lately due to a (much) busy schedule. FYI, I have a full-time job, a part-time job, I attend Russian language courses, and I am a volunteer. That keeps me 100% busy the whole week.
I asked myself: What boosts my creativity?
Reading
It may sound cliché, but I do read! Okay, I don’t read every book that comes my way. I must confess that I get bored with romantic novels, a lovers’ story, etc.. I prefer crime, mystery, thriller and business books. I love reading books that give me goosebumps, not from fear but suspense. I love books about people’s psychology, an alternative perspective on things.
Exercising
It’s well known that exercise boosts energy and clears the mind. I tried various methods of exercise, sports like field and track and volleyball, handball, basketball. I tried the gym, running and walking, in-house cardio and circular exercise. I tried morning and evening. After multiple experiments and injuries, I ended up with a combination of Pilates and yoga routine, every morning (including weekends). The yoga-Pilates combination helps me kick off the day, relax my body, free my mind and connect both. Since yoga and Pilates require high levels of body control and the only way to do it effectively, is by using the mind, I distance myself from everything for a while and return to seize the day, calm and concentrated.
Breathing
Breathing is an automatic and unconscious operation of our bodies, but have you ever paid attention to it? Have you ever thought how important it is? I’m not an expert on breathing exercises but with a good guide you should be able to adopt some very effective breathing methods. Breathing exercises help calm my mind and body, keep my concentration and composure when I need to, and not lose my temper. I take a visual step back from everything and everyone, reduce my heart rate to normal, visualize myself in Hawaii (on Fiji Islands) drinking coconut water under the sun. For some minutes I don’t listen to anything or anyone. It works!
Space organization & DIY
I’m an organization freak! I want everything in order and tidy. I cannot function when little things are all over the place, here and there, and at the same time I can’t afford boxes and cases, cabinets and drawers every day. Therefore, I try to declutter as frequently as possible starting from my bedroom and moving to the rest of the house (I’m still living with my parents so I cannot throw away or donate everything). And then I DIY little cases and boxes using shoe boxes, toilet paper rolls and wraps, I make flowerpots from clothespins, photo frames with used paper sheets, bathroom mats with old towels and much more.
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These are the main activities that help me stay calm, focused and creative even while in a lockdown, feel free to try these methods too and let me know what works for you!
