Creative Thinking for Fun and Good Grades – Three Strategies
Do you find different ways to use common objects? Have you been known to come up with unique solutions to problems? Then you are probably what we call a creative thinker.
A lot of us would like to be more creative. And there are times when students need to be creative thinkers, especially when they have certain writing assignments. These assignments include college application and scholarship essays, and certain English comp assignments. Creativity is also required in other academic essays, especially in introductions to essays and paper.
Can Creativity Be Learned?
While some believe that creativity is a matter of “you either have it or you don’t,” many others believe that there are strategies for creative thinking that can be learned. They believe that there are mental exercises and activities that can boost an individual’s creative thinking skills. If you do not think of yourself as a creative thinker and yet you want to be more creative in your writing, it certainly would not hurt to try these three strategies for creative thinking development.
Three Strategies
There are many strategies that are put forward to help people be more creative, but these three seem to always pop up in any discussion.
- Read Non-Academic Stuff
Every college student has plenty of academic reading to get done. It’s not fun, it’s intellectual, and it involves what is often called linear thinking – reading the ideas and points that others make, committing them to memory, and possibly analyzing them in the production of essays and papers.
Take some time to read fiction and non-fiction that is totally unrelated to your academic work. There is wonderfully creative stuff out there. Reading it will allow your own thinking to move in new directions, as you are exposed to new ideas and new thinking patterns. One of the traits of creative people is that they do read a lot – and they read all genres.
- Change Out Your Environment
Students often get “stuck” in their environments. Their days are spent in the same places with the same people – going to class, hanging out in the student union, the dorm or apartment, involved in the same activities, and partying with the same people.
Staying in the same environment actually depresses creative thinking. So, how can you change your environment?
- Get to know other students – students who are not involved in the same groups you are. Hang out with them, have conversations with them, and open up your mind to new ideas and lifestyles
- Get involved in a new activity – volunteer in the community for the less fortunate. Again, you will gain new perspectives
- Take an elective course that would never have been on your list of interests. Get exposed to ideas and concepts that are totally new
- Give Your Brain a Rest
There is a “state” of your brain that is often called “alpha/theta.” This is when your brain waves have slowed down – slower than normal waking waves.
People can get into alpha/theta states, for example, when they meditate or do Yoga. Sometimes, this state can be reached while taking a walk, relaxing in a hot tub or a bath – any activity in which you do not have to be engaged and focusing on something.
Creative ideas often flow when it is in this slower state; and the other benefit is that stress is reduced.
Engage in activities that give your brain a rest. Sometimes if you are struggling with an essay or paper assignment, walking away and engaging in some “mindless” activity will give you the ideas and thoughts you need.
When the Creativity isn’t Coming
You are not going to become more creative overnight. It takes time. But, those assignments don’t wait. If you need some creative writing help, consider enlisting that help from an academic writing service. There are many good ones out there – check out the best custom writing service reviews provided by a good review site, and find one that works for you
