Five Awesome Ways To Stay Inspired

Something I've learned this year is that creativity will always need feeding - I can spend my days creating content, but if I don't fill my life with the things I love and the things that inspire me, my work would become stale and stagnant. Surrounding myself with daily inspiration that helps me see the world from different points of view, and explore my own process and creativity, is key to my creative process and today I'm sharing five of my favourite ways to stay inspired.

Read everything Words will always be my happy place, and whether it's a book, a newspaper, a blog/website, or a magazine, I never go a day without losing myself in various reading materials. First thing I do most mornings is check in with my favourite blogs, and throughout the day I'm always stumbling across various articles and posts online that spark some creativity or new ideas. Making it easier for yourself by following all your favourite blogs on Bloglovin, or saving articles you want to read to something like Pocket, means you'll always have access to something awesome to read. More than just online content though, my favourite thing is to probably lose myself in a good book, whether fiction or non fiction, and I shared a few of my favourites on ALO here, here, and here.

Visit exhibitions Living in an awesome city like Manchester means that there is always something to explore and do throughout the week, and I try and visit any exhibitions or museums as often as I can as it's the perfect way to escape and explore. Whether it's an afternoon spent in the science museum, or a few hours browsing the art gallery, I always leave feeling inspired to create work I can be proud of.

Talk to fellow creatives I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many awesome, talented, and creative people in my life, both online and offline. My partner in crime over at ALO Rebecca is crazy talented and spending time together and brainstorming ideas never fails to spark something in me. My other half Alex is a sound designer and composer, and building my life with someone who is as creatively driven as I am means that we're forever talking about our work, new ideas, and dreaming big together. Being around other creatives makes us better at what we do - they push us to do better, and they are as excited as we are about creative endeavours. Bouncing ideas off each other, collaborating, and supporting each other every step of the way is one of the best ways to stay inspired.

Visuals are good too As much as I wouldn't consider myself a visual person, I do find so much inspiration when it comes to the visual world and the awesome work people are creating. Whether it's photography, design, or film, I can happily lose myself in them for hours. Pinterest is the perfect pit stop when you feel like your creativity well has dried up, and I'm also a big fan of Ted Talks for when I need to feel inspired. I also try and head to the cinema at least once a fortnight - there's something about the escapism of seeing a film on the big screen - and Instagram is also an awesome platform for losing yourself in the work of some awesome photographers.

Try something new When I really hit a creative wall, the best thing I've found is to try something new. Whether it's a different writing style or topic, or maybe even a different medium, opening myself up to a different way of approaching work usually really helps me to move forward and push through. If we stay stagnant, so will our work, so when you find yourself lacking inspiration and motivation it may be because it's time to move forward and try something a little different.

What about you, what are your favourite ways to stay inspired?

Jen

P.S further reading: Mornings Are For Inspiration, Evenings Are For Inspiration Too, 6 Lifestyle Instagrammers We Love, Some Of Our Favourite VSCO Grids

Image source 1, 2, 3