Let’s play a quick word association game.

When I say “creativity,” what words immediately come to mind? You can jot them down, say them out loud, or mull them over in your mind. What words are on your list?

Here are the words I thought of:

• Inspiration

• Imagination

• Innovation

• Enthusiasm

• Fun

Many of us tend to associate creativity with exciting blue skies ideation, and “routine” didn’t even come close to being a word that came up for me. But when I look carefully at my creative process and learn about the habits of uber-creative people, I see a common thread that involves some sort of routine, structure, or disciplined practice.

Living through a global pandemic, I’ve been thinking a lot about the positive impact of having a daily routine that keeps me feeling hopeful, inspired, and creative — something is self-sustaining and doesn’t overly rely on external factors or outside influence. I use my routine to focus on things I can control in my own life, to trust that I will do what’s best for my overall health, and to believe in myself.

Today, I’m going to share three simple steps that can help us build routines that spark creativity — and all the magical associations we think of when we hear that word.

First, identify some sort of daily routine that you find particularly joyful. This takes some trial and error, as there are lots of different routines that work for others but may not necessarily be a good fit for you. An example of this for me is meditation — while I do still meditate from time to time, I ultimately let go of meditation as a daily habit because it never became something that I looked forward to.

It may take time for you to feel the joy in a new routine. Another example from my personal life is waking up before dawn. This is a integral habit for me now, but it didn’t always bring me joy. It was hard to shift my sleep schedule to wake up earlier. After many experiments in this area, I noticed that I felt significantly happier when I started my days before dawn — I relished the quiet moments, I felt more grounded, and I was waaay more productive. Eventually, the joy I felt when waking up early outweighed my desire to stay cozied up in bed.

While there are a number of other fun practices (like chatting with friends or 30-day challenges) that I use intermittently to help spark my creative flow, here are the three that I do every day:

• Waking up at 6:30am

• Writing morning pages (you can read about my practice here)

• Walking 10,000 steps

Other daily habits that can help spark creativity include doing yoga or some other form of exercise (if you’re able to, moving your body is a wonderful way to move your mind), meditating, doodling, or even napping (a technique I use frequently). You may already have a list of joyful habits you can integrate into your daily routine, but if you’re not sure where to start, try a few different things and check in with how you feel. The key is to find a practice that allows your mind to open up — something that doesn’t require too much concentration or focus — so you will be receptive to creative sparks.

Second, practice this joyful routine every day. Of course, there are days when I don’t feel like waking up, writing morning pages, or going for a walk. So what do I do when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated? First, I listen to my body and take a few moments to rest. Then, I give myself a little pep talk.

And then, I follow my routine anyway.

The three practices I listed above form part of my identity — and knowing that I am a person who does these things makes me want to do them, even when I don’t want to do them. If you do happen to miss a day though, due to illness or fatigue or anxiety or any other reason, be gentle with yourself. It’s ok.

Finally, be flexible and allow yourself to change things up. When my daily routine is no longer bringing me joy, I don’t hesitate to take breaks, experiment, make tweaks, or let go of the practice entirely. Your routine is here to support and inspire you, not to cause stagnation. It’s normal to feel a lack of motivation from time to time, but if your routine is repeatedly causing you to feel stress, shame, or sadness, it’s time to try something new.

A joyful routine is a form of discipline that helps you feel productive through small daily accomplishments. It increases your confidence, motivation, and momentum. This routine is also something your brain can do without too much effort. It allows your mind to be receptive to creative sparks.

No one knows where these creative sparks come from, but they’re the product of a unique combination of lived experiences, thoughts, emotions, and memories. These somehow blend together in a beautifully inexplicable way, and when your mind is open and receptive, you’ll notice something sitting there patiently — a shiny new idea. Your shiny new idea.

Most of my creative sparks surface when I’m practicing my daily routine.

In those quiet moments when I wake up before dawn, or when I’m writing morning pages, or when I’m taking a long walk, I tend to come up with creative ideas that fill me with enthusiasm. My routine encourages me to carve out time for a daily dose of these moments of receptivity. Sometimes, these moments don’t yield much. But in many other moments, wow! I get ideas for new ways I want to play, things I want to learn, projects I want to create. Many people call this big “C” creativity (or creativity with a capital “C”). It’s probably what you thought of when we played the word association game.

But creativity doesn’t always start with a capital “C.” The quiet moments in my routine also allow me to think of ways to infuse creativity into my day-to-day life, transforming mundane problems with “aha!” solutions. Small things like tweaking the placement of objects in my home to vastly improve convenience, dishes I can cook to use up the veggies in our fridge, a route I can take during my walk that will tick off the errands on my list. This is known as little “c” creativity — not as glamorous but still provides that oh-so-good feeling by igniting a creative spark.

What patterns have you noticed with your creative moments? When do you feel the most creative energy? What routines help spark your creativity?

♥︎