If you’re going to be creative, then you need to place yourself in the environment. This applies whether you’re composing a score for a Hollywood movie, painting a surrealist masterwork, or putting together a keynote speech for a pivotal conference. Without the right inspiration, these endeavours are at risk of falling flat.

Why Physical Space Influences Thinking

Many designers, artists, and other creatives report feeling energised after a change in scenery. If you’re stuck in the same office at home for hours on end, then swapping to a corner-side cafe might set loose an unexpected avalanche of creativity. In many cases, it’s putting yourself in a green and pleasant environment that’s most effective. A walk in the park during a spare lunch hour is often enough for your subconscious mind to turn over challenges that might not otherwise have been overcome.

Using Movement to Reset Your Rhythm

It might be that, without realising it, you’ve settled into a number of mental habits. As we find ourselves in the same places, doing the same tasks, at the same times of day, we often find ourselves following the well-trodden mental pathways. By surrounding yourself with novelty, you force yourself to break free of these behavioural patterns.

This is why so many creatives in the UK own a motorhome. If you’re working on a difficult challenge, hopping aboard a large vehicle and booking a spot at a campsite might be essential. Just make sure that you have the right motorhome insurance to head on a trip at a moment’s notice.

Creating Deliberate Environments That Support New Ideas

Just because you’re looking for a new environment doesn’t mean you need to go travelling, or that you need to escape your existing one. Often, it’s a good idea to make changes to your workspace that might inspire creativity. You might install LED strips in key locations, change the way that your desk is set up, or simply install a few plants in key locations around the room.

Of course, what you personally find inspiring might be different from what inspires other people. Make sure that you pay attention to your own personal tastes. Bear in mind also the value of leaving your options open. If you want to redecorate and refurbish your office, for example, you might delay painting the walls until you’ve used a few tester pots and observed the way that the hue reacts to different shades.

Letting Your Environment Shape the Work in Unexpected Ways

In some cases, the place you find yourself in might directly inform the work you’re doing. If you’re writing a novel about the countryside, then removing yourself to the countryside for a few months might be a worthwhile exercise. You can consider this kind of shift a form of research, as well as a way to keep things feeling fresh and inspiring.

Seeking out new environments needn’t be a big, expensive undertaking. Often, it’s enough to make a few small changes or go on a few short trips in order to nurture your inner sense of play and creativity.