How to get un-stuck, release your creativity, and get inspired

Feeling creatively stuck? There's a super simple, easy, and free fix for when you are looking for inspiration and you want to stop postponing and procrastinating your work. 

Usually, day after day, we're too much in our head, resulting in indecisiveness, and nothing gets done. I get it; we've all been there. 

Unfortunately, continuously feeling overwhelmed and pressured to perform became the standard and our default mode in recent years. 

How I manage myself, my expectations, my anxiety, and above all, how I stay creative and keep my mental sanity in this crazy world → walking.

Yeah, I know! Walking is usually something for the elderly or the overenthusiastic 10K+ steps-a-day fit girl health freaks. But it works. Like magic.

There're at least 3 mental and 1 physical benefit.

• Walking, the unexpected creativity hack
• Mental clarity starts with movement
• Your me-time to unwind, learn, and grow
• Your physical health benefits as well
• Need a push to start? Ask AI to motivate your inner office warrior

How I walk 10K+ steps a day without even trying

I started in January 2022 and vamped up my daily steps from ~4K to 10K minimum to 12K maximum. It's easier than you think, no need to stress about forcefully squeezing walking into your daily (office) life. 

I walk to the gym for 20 minutes and back; I walk to the supermarket in 15 minutes; I walk during a meeting, and sometimes, I even walk to the city center in 50 minutes instead of by bike or public transport — it’s my time to listen to books, podcasts, music or enjoy the sound of silence.

→ I measure my average per week or month, so I don't stress for being lazy for a day or two.

Give it a try; all it takes to start is 10 minutes, and build it up from there. And after a week of short walks, you'll notice that you feel a shift in your creativity and mental clarity. 

Let's get into the benefits and the details. 

Walking, the unexpected creativity hack

It's proven by research and data. And personal experiences. 

• Based on ‘Learning to Learn’ by Barbara Oakley, unwinding and letting your mind wander is essential to be able to hyper-focus. You need to give your mind a break to unwind, calm down, digest, and prepare for a new time of high productivity. You can’t do one without the other.
   
• In ‘Creativity,’ John Cleese explains this in his own way. If you initiate and start the work the night before, you can digest and chew on it while you sleep. And the next morning, with a fresh and rested mind, you undoubtedly improve your work. That’s why spending 10 to 30 minutes on the big project you want to start or complete the next day is always a good idea.

My take is that if you can’t sleep, you at least can go for a 10-minute walk and let your mind wander to be able to re-focus afterward. 

Luckily, walking has even more benefits; it's just as powerful for your mental health. 

Mental clarity starts with movement

Never underestimate the mental benefits of physically moving your body. The more stuck you are in your head, the more you need it.

Even at times when you are so damn freaking crazy busy, and you prefer to be glued to your desk to finish all tasks precisely than go for a walk.

I guarantee that when you take a short break, step away from the urgent work to be done, and when you come back, you'll have more head space, feel more energized, and get even more work done in the shorter time left to complete your tasks.

→ We can’t be always-on, we need head space.

Please note that there is no need to go all out, spike your heart rate, or go for a hard run or an intense CrossFit workout. It’s the relaxed, repetitive, low impact of walking that calms your mind, decreases stimuli, and releases the happy hormones.

And with that clear mind, you're open to learning and growing. It's good to know that your walking time can double as high-quality, do-not-disturb me-time.

Your ultimate me-time to unwind, learn, and grow

Walking is like an inspirational escape for me. It’s the time I can shamelessly spend on myself to learn and be inspired. This results in about 1 book a week and 2 to 4 podcasts a day. 

→ Without even making a real effort, I continuously learn new stuff, get fresh insights, gain different points of view, and just enjoy listening to others to broaden my horizons.

I even have my favorite Audible books I re-read frequently, some of which I can cite almost word by word. You never read the same book twice.

And, for sure, not all books and podcasts are high-brow, educational, and intellectually sound; I'm human, and this is also my me-time to feel dumb, act stupid, and escape the harsh reality.

Luckily, the benefits continue; next to these 3 mental benefits, there's also a huge physical payoff. 

Your physical health benefits as well

The world has never been more obese, out of shape, medicine-dependent, and sick than it is right now. We should be ashamed of letting ourselves go. 

If I remember correctly, we sit for 12+ hours per day on average. We sit during breakfast, in our car, at the (home) office, during lunch and dinner, and after that, we hang out on the sofa for some Netflix and chill. Shocking, right?

Knowing this, it’s not weird that most people are stuck at around 3.000 steps a day. And we all know that’s not enough to maintain your physical and mental health. We humans are made to move, not to be glued to a chair. 

→ Remember, a ‘body in motion stays in motion’ [the incredible Dr. Pol, 80 years old]

→ ‘We don’t stop moving because we grow old; we grow old because we stop moving.’

Need a push to start? Ask AI to motivate your inner office warrior

And if you don’t feel motivated, just ask ChatGPT to motivate you with this prompt. 

Imagine you are a super busy, very important office warrior and desk jockey; you need to deliver pronto and get a shitload of work done. You know it’s good to take a break, go outside, go for a walk, and come back refreshed. Can you write me a motivation in Simon Sinek or Arnold Schwarzenegger's style? Please keep it short and motivational in 100 words.  

Key takeaways and wrapping it up

If you're not convinced by now, get up, go for a 10-minute walk outside, and reflect on how it makes you feel. That's the simplest way to get started and experience the benefits almost instantly.

Staying active, both physically and mentally, keeps you happy, creative and healthy. And more productive.

All you need is your mindset to get out the door, even if it’s just for 5 minutes one way and 5 minutes back. Still, a short 10-minute walk makes a huge difference.

And even if it rains, go. As a bonus, you’ll feel more badass when you’ll be back.

Why walking is the best you can do

• Walking, the unexpected creativity hack
• Mental clarity starts with movement
• Your me-time to unwind, learn, and grow
• Your physical health benefits as well
• Need a push to start? Ask AI to motivate your inner office warrior

Enjoy your newfound creativity, clarity, and head space.

Need help to start with AI today?

If you need any help setting up this new process and getting your team started while hitting the ground running, don’t hesitate to drop me a DM on LinkedIn. 

If I'm not your designated person, I can certainly recommend someone in my network who can help you.  

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