How To Train Your Brain To Be More Creative

Everyone knows that exercise is great for our bodies, but it’s also important to get in a workout for the brain. Training your mind to think in different ways and find various paths to one solution will help boost your IQ and allow you to pump up your creative juices.

Some of the other benefits of brain exercises include improved memory functions, faster reaction time, and the ability to focus, which helps productivity at work and school. But in order to get the benefits, you have to put in the work. Stimulating the brain requires a break from routine, so snap out of the usual and try these tips on waking up your brain.

Play

Puzzles, card games, and word games are all great ways to get your mind working. You can find books full of games and puzzles or download an app on your phone or tablet to take them with you wherever you go. This way, when you find yourself waiting at the DMV or in line at the grocery store, instead of scrolling through your social media feed, you can boost your brain activity.

Quilters may enjoy using adult coloring books with a quilt theme to play with color. They also usually play by positioning various fabrics when planning their new projects.

Learn a new language

Gone are the days when you had to shell out tons of money for a foreign language program; now it’s as easy as downloading an app such as Duolingo, where you can learn Spanish, French, German, or several other languages and go at your own pace. Learning to speak and read a different language can help train your brain to see things in a new way and, with the app, you’ll use both visual and audio cues, which are great ways to stimulate your mind.

Although quilting lingo is not a foreign language, it may seem that way to non-quilters! The terminology can be challenging but a new quilter will quickly become fluent.

Find or expand on a hobby

Hobbies are a great way to keep your brain active, not to mention that they give you a chance to decompress while doing something you enjoy. Some hobbies, like quilting, knitting or embroidery are, things you can do anywhere at any time. Other hobbies, like woodworking, gardening, or birdwatching allow you to get extra physical activity all while enjoying your hobby.

Quilters develop a wide variety of skills - hand or machine piecing, applique, embroidery, hand or machine quilting - to name a few. Most are always interested in learning the latest technique so skill development is continual.

Write it down

Art is a very powerful thing, and it can bring up all sorts of emotions. Find a piece of interesting art or a photograph that speaks to you and write something about it. Write down how it makes you feel, or come up with a short story about what you think is going on in the image. Make up a past for the subject and create a character study. Delve deeper than you might usually go and see what you can come up with.

Trade hands

If you’re right-handed, use your left hand to write a word over and over on a sheet of paper. If you’re left-handed, draw half an image and then use your right hand to finish it. Train your brain to work with your hands in different ways and see how long it takes before you’re comfortable with this new way of writing or drawing.

Free motion quilting requires trained muscle movement. Both hands must move in unison in order to guide fabric under the needle of a domestic machine or to guide a longarm machine over the fabric.

Close your eyes

At home--or in another place you are very familiar with--try a task you’ve done many times with closed eyes. Having to do laundry--placing the clothes in the washer, measuring out detergent, using fabric softener, and setting the timer--while relying on your other senses will help your mind find different ways around a problem.

By adding a few tweaks here and there you can give your brain the boost it needs to be more creative. When you incorporate some of these techniques, it’s certain that you can bust through your creative rut.

Article content written by Larry Mager of readybrain.net and the Quilting Contessa. Check out the site for more ideas and games.