In 2006, Mihai Covassa and colleagues elucidated that one of the key determinates in rat obesity was the type of bacteria found in the gut. By changing the gut bacteria, previously skinny mice began eating more and packing on the weight. Their “eating habits” were profoundly altered by a simple change.

It doesn’t take much of a leap to understand that your daily habits are probably largely influencing your creativity. Think of how many times you drive or commute home and when arriving at your door, are unable to recall a single memory of the last 15 minutes. I´ll never forget the time I ended up in my own garage when I was supposed to be somewhere else, just because my autopilot led me home. Having a whole set of routines are predictable, comfortable and safe, but it makes life so boring. How can you expect a bored brain to be creative?

Minor adjustments
Changing your habits will change your perspective, open up for new impressions and stimulate your brain to be more creative. An entertained brain is a more creative brain. Some suggestions are: go home from work a different route, sit at a different place by the table in meetings or at meal times, choose someone else to have lunch with, read a book that you normally would not choose, read a different blog or try a new app. The list can go on and on, but I´ll stop there. Notice the new impressions around you and allow new ideas to enter your consciousness. Start by breaking one habit each day and notice how much you actually enjoy it.

Marking a larger territory
You might think: I don´t have time to do all these changes in my life. And yes, changing your habits can cause stress. Changing your route from work can make you pick up your kids later from school. Changing regular seating’s by the table can cause stress for your family or colleagues. Your dog will get quite confused when you suddenly present a new route with unexpected new smells. To keep some sanity, you need to communicate these minor changes to your friends and family – as they are quite comfortable with your current habits. Be honest. Tell the people around you what you are doing. Tell them you need brain food. Tell them you need to do some minor changes to get inspiration. I am sure they will appreciate the outcome, and I am willing to bet your dog will appreciate marking a larger territory. And it is a lot easier on your friends and family than changing out your gut flora.

Leave a comment of how you are changing your habits and your experience when doing it.

If you are interested I have a list of suggestions for other things you can do to increase your creativity in one of my former blog posts.

You can read more about changing your habits in these articles from Michael Michalko’s: Breaking Habits and Your Habits Determine Your Character. You can also watch this short TED talk by Matt Cutts where he challenges you to do something new for 30 days.