Six Simple Creative Activities to Try (When You’re Not Feeling Creative and Your Mental Health Needs a Boost)
Research tells us that doing something creative – particularly making something – is good for your mental health; I know this to be true from personal experience.
If you're doing a solo creative activity, such as knitting or embroidery, the rhythmic, repetitive motion feels like meditation after a while. It can be truly mindful.
Group activities, for example, attending an art class, are an opportunity to meet people while you learn; being creative and social can boost your happy hormones.
But what if you aren't creative?
It doesn't matter.
Focus on the process – be a process-driven maker. Focus on learning new skills – remember, learning is a creative process.
Here are six simple creative activities to try when you aren’t feeling particularly creative:
Take a photo walk: be a tourist in your local area – take as many interesting shots with your phone as possible. Choose your favourites and then print and frame them.
Doodle: if you don't know where to start, hop over to YouTube and search “how to doodle”; perhaps start here.
Build something with Lego: if you enjoyed Lego as a child, I guarantee you'll enjoy it even more as an adult.
Try origami: all you need to get started is some paper - again, browse YouTube for tutorials, or start here.
Experiment with collage: you only need a few magazines, a glue stick, scissors, and a notepad to start a glue book.
Write a haiku: a haiku is usually a 17-syllable poem arranged into three lines (5, 7, then 5 syllables per line); these constraints make the format fun and accessible. Find out how to write a haiku here.
Ditch the perfectionism. Focus on the pleasure of doing something creative rather than making a masterpiece.
