Five tips on how to get outside each day, and boost your creativity along the way.
With the world closing in around me, a pressure building in my head and my heart, I needed to break free, I wanted to break free. This week had been too much, far too much for me to cope. I didn’t care any more if it was going to rain on me, it had become essential that I got out of the house and so I exploded out my door and strode over to my local shops. All my mind could think about was buying a whiteboard marker for an activity I wanted to do on my fridge.
Burdened down with this emotional weight I couldn’t think of work anymore, no images appeared for a project, the only piece of clarity I had was this marker and I needed to go and get it. I’d had enough of cars for one week, this one needed to be bought on foot, I had no idea if any of the local shops would sell one, I was wandering to them anyway.
What had got me into this pent up position? Being inside so much! I work from home, my routine involves trying to run my freelance business, house work, and looking after the kids (including their various groups and activities), I don’t get many opportunities to engage with people outside of my household unless I actually put some effort into it. And here is the key, I need to put some effort into it.
Let’s travel back in time a bit.
The week before my whiteboard marker walk explosion (WMWE) I had pitched up shop at a hot desk office, it was marvellous, and whilst there I began researching on nature and creativity. I discovered how scientists have only recently begun making a link between nature and creativity, how spending time in it can increase our creativity. For something that seems obvious it surprised me that scientists are only now making this connection. To say I was inspired was an understatement! I told myself I would get out every day, spend at least 30 minutes exploring the outside world, the greener the better, and I’d be able to show off to you all how wonderful it is and encourage you to do the same.
Ah what a sweet naive promise I made.
A whole week later and I’d never been more stuck indoors since COVID! If I wasn’t in my house I was in a car, and if I wasn’t in a car I was in another building. Life had become one stuffy box and it was awful. Towards the end of the week I was not only finding myself becoming irritated more easily, but also unable to be inspired, completely, I hit one creative block after another. But here’s the thing, I wasn’t stuck indoors, I just hadn’t put the proper effort in. Life totally threw a curve ball and suddenly every evening was full and every day I tried to make ‘productive’ because I was doing so much in the evening.
In retrospect what I should have put more effort into was getting outside, and carving out that important time. And that’s exactly what I did next. And did it work? Did it help me become more creative? Yes and no, but mostly yes.
Creativity was a secondary outcome, the primary being one of lightness. By making the effort to go out every day I was able to lighten my mental load. It brought a calmness to my day and through that I was then able to remove the mental blocks. The walks, the lunches on benches across from fields, the pottering around my garden, each activity provided ample time for all the connections in my brain to find each other, and for me to breathe away the tension.
I want to do it more, so how do I make sure it isn’t just a fad for a nice article like this? And how do you reading this article begin your own daily journey? Here’s five tips on how to get outside each day, and boost your creativity along the way.
One. Plan your time.
If it’s in the diary I’ll do it, if it isn’t then I’ll forget, so I need to plan the time in. Once it’s in the diary it becomes something important. I don’t use anything fancy for my diary, for time specific things, such as meetings, I use Google Calendar. For tasks and to do lists I keep everything in Notes because it’s got the ability to tick them off, and that I find super satisfying.
I’m the sort of person who if I complete a task that wasn’t on my to do list I will add it onto it purely for the pleasure of crossing it off! My outdoor time goes in my To Do list in Notes and because it’s something I’ve got to tick off it must be done. That’s the rule. After while I know it will become second nature and it won’t need to go in there anymore, however for these early stages my diary is my friend.
Two. No such thing as bad weather.
Well there is, a bit, but there’s rarely a day where there isn’t a sweet spot within a day were it’s grand to go out in, as long as you take or wear appropriate clothing then no matter what the elements you can have an enjoyable walk. My favourite thing to do when it rains is to go somewhere with trees, the sound of the water hitting the leaves is just divine!
At my children’s school there is one parent who adores the rain, they don’t wear a coat, they utterly embrace the rain falling directly on them. Now, I’m not at their level, however when it does rain I think of them and it reminds me there’s always joy to be found in non sunny weather. My message for me and you, is unless there’s a weather warning indicating it’s a danger to life, just go out and find the joy!
Three. Keep it local.
This one is tough for me, because we tackled many of the local walks during the numerous lockdowns and the thought of seeing them again fills me with dread. However it doesn’t need to be too complicated, a simple 20 minute stroll around your garden, or streets or park will be plentiful. As much as I actively avoid those we went on a lot during that traumatic time, I have discovered the relief that comes from not trying to go anywhere specific, a simple long loop, a chance to stretch my legs is enough. Yes, it 100% is better to be within some green space, however just getting out wherever is possible is helpful.
When I use to work in an office I avoided the lunch time walk club, not because I didn’t want to exercise but because at the time I couldn’t think of anything worse than strolling around an industrial estate. As a result I trapped myself inside, and looking back I should have joined them, it would have helped me tremendously. Take a look around your local area, whether that’s at work or at home, and see where you can go for a short work during your day. If you drive to work (and it’s safe enough) would it help to park a little further away? That way you can stretch your legs before and after your shift, get the blood pumping as you pound the pavement.
Four. Go outside during times you wouldn’t normally go outside.
Nothing quite boosts your mood than doing something outside of your normal routine. For me this was lunch time and after tea, these two time periods are ones I’d normally spend indoors. The most surprising result of my experiment was discovering that if I ate my lunch outside, or went for a walk immediately after meal times my happiness levels went up a crazy amount AND that gave me plenty of energy to tackle the tasks that awaited me when I got back inside. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, the science shows that exercise after a meal helps to balance your glucose levels, steading any spikes. Remember that feeling, maybe after the Christmas dinner, or on Boxing Day, when filled with food you go out for a walk and find yourselves feeling refreshed? Imagine that every day! But without the long afternoon nap that follows!!
Five. Have a brew break.
Over the Easter break the Wright family went on a very short trip to Paris. I tell people we went backpacking, we didn’t, but we didn’t take suitcases, we all wore a backpack and went on the Eurostar, so for that reason I feel justified in claiming that we went backpacking. Anyway, I noticed how all the cafes had outside seating, loads of it, and instead of facing into the table they faced towards the streets, in pairs of twos. That way you could sit and watch the world go by, instead of keeping entirely inwards.
You wouldn’t get that here in Lancashire that’s for sure. Experiencing those seats did inspire me though, it made me realise I do not drink my brews outside enough. This was the simplest of the activities I did during my experiment week. instead of drinking that brew inside your house or office, go and have it outside. You will be impressed how much better you will for doing it.
And there you have it, five manageable tips to help you get outside more, boost your serotonin and get those creative muscles pumping again. I’d love to know what you enjoy doing outdoors when you’re in a creative funk, get in touch with me on Instagram and share!
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