Recharge your creative batteries in 31 days - Join me

[Robin M]

Inkybites is hosting a Recharge Your Creative Batteries in 31 days. The goal is to get back on track and recharge your creativity.

 

 

 

To get the most out of this Creative Recharge, you’ll want to have the following:

 

• An Open Mind—I can’t express how important this is. Without an open mind, you’re not going to accomplish much of anything. Some of the tips/tasks are going to seem strange to you, even downright weird, but if you keep an open mind and attempt them anyhow, you’ll see the point.
  
• A Commitment—to yourself and to completing the 31-day challenge. Sure, you could continue to make excuses for why you can’t, but you will never, ever reach any of your goals that way.
  
• A Willingness to Share—you will get more out of this challenge if you comment on the posts and share them with other creative people that you know. Leaving comments around the day’s challenge and sharing with other people will help you get your questions answered, see how other writers are doing and assist you in implementing the tip/challenge into your day.
  

Jump in and join me this month. I'll be posting her ideas here for each day

 

Day 1: Zen of Daily Mind Clearing exercises: Morning Pages, Morning Meditation and/or journaling.

 

 

A year or so ago I read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way and started doing morning pages. I fell out of the habit so going to begin again.

[Robin M]

Bumping because the board is moving quickly after our enforced fast yesterday.

[TheReader]

thanks for posting & for bumping!

 

I'm game...off to check out the link, bookmark it, etc...and see what I need to do to get started. Sounds intriguing!

[jacqui in mo]

Do you have to subscribe to the website to get the daily exercises?

[laughing lioness]

This looks cool, Robin. I'll be checking it out later in the day when there is a lull in the "mellow summer day" ;)

[Robin M]

Day 2: How to start your day energized.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day or so my mother always said. Discovered cereals don't last with me. My favorite - peanut butter toast, orange juice and tea.

 

 

 

Why Breakfast is so important

 

Breakfast sets up your entire day of eating. If you skip breakfast, you’ll be starving by lunch time, which can cause you to overeat.

 

 

When your body thinks it’s starving, it goes into “starvation mode,†which slows down your metabolism and causes your body to store your calorie intake as fat. It’s actually been proven that people who consistently eat breakfast weigh less than people who don’t.

 

 

Plus when you don’t eat breakfast you’ll feel tired all morning and end up drinking even more coffee to make up for it.

 

 

It’s a vicious cycle. If you’re ready to break it, start by eating something in the morning that will give you energy.

 

 

When you have energy, you’ll be able to think on your feet, be creative when you need to be and have the ability to make it through an entire writing session.

 

 

 

@jacqui - no you don't have to subscribe. Can bookmark the blog and check it each day or whenever.

[Happy]

Day 2: How to start your day energized.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day or so my mother always said. Discovered cereals don't last with me. My favorite - peanut butter toast, orange juice and tea.

 

.

 

Take this even farther...make breakfast a creative moment.

 

Fix, cook, or purchase a breakfast you would not normally have. Too often breakfast is a rushed meal. Fix your favorite breakfast. Serve on the good china. Use a real napkin. Savor the flavors and textures of the meal. Or have an ethnic breakfast--something German or Ethopian or Icelandic, for example.

 

Have breakfast somewhere different. At a table on the back porch. At the lake. In a crowded coffee shop.

 

Use breakfast as a jumping off point creatively. Can you write, draw, sew, or paint about your breakfast? Can you use any of the ingredients as creative materials as if they were paint or ???

 

I love the idea of a creative recharge. I usually take a week in the summer to indulge in something similar. Throughout the year a few days or a weekend can boost the creative charge, too.

 

I'll be checking in with you from time to time. What did you have for breakfast this morning? We did toast (yawn) but also grilled some peaches with a bit of sugar. Mmmmm...never had done that before. It was good. ;)

 

Happy creating!

[CalicoKat]

:lurk5: Is it possible to find it again? Twelve years of parenting has left me wrung.

[Robin M]

:lurk5: Is it possible to find it again? Twelve years of parenting has left me wrung.

 

 

Yes, start by doing something nice for yourself and not the kids or hubby.

[Guest]

I'd be in for this. I'm working through Cameron's The Right to Write at this time. Morning Pages is in there, too. I do them some of the time. I get discouraged with it because I feel like nothing comes of them. :tongue_smilie:

[Robin M]

I'd be in for this. I'm working through Cameron's The Right to Write at this time. Morning Pages is in there, too. I do them some of the time. I get discouraged with it because I feel like nothing comes of them. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

When I started using them as a warm up to working on current wip or to work out character issues, it seemed to work better for me rather than using them to just vent. If you are a private person and not used to writing down things, then it's hard. I also didn't have time to do them first thing in the morning with cats and kid swarming for breakfast so did after breakfast. Don't know why got out of the habit, so going to get in habit again for July and see where it takes me. Have idea for new story have been ignoring. :) I'm just about to start Vein of Gold.

[Happy]

I'd be in for this. I'm working through Cameron's The Right to Write at this time. Morning Pages is in there, too. I do them some of the time. I get discouraged with it because I feel like nothing comes of them. :tongue_smilie:

 

Keep doing them. Sometimes it takes a while to feel the benefits. I also think it's easier for a writer to see the benefits faster. After a while, though, you'll start having creative ideas surface during your writing. When you do write them into your pages. Or stop and sketch or capture the idea.

 

My creativity has taken a beating with all my health issues and trying to work in a challenging field. It feels GOOD to take a creative break and recharge. I've got a book I'm trying to give birth to :D and some stained glass ideas I can't wait to get my hands on.

[Robin M]

Day 3 Add Movement to your Day:

 

"Shift your mindset and add movement to your days. Getting into an exercise routine is great for building stamina and long-term health, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still move even on days when you don’t have time for more traditional forms of exercise. Although these activities alone probably won’t help you shed a ton of weight, they will help you add movement to your day. That’s that important thing.

Because when you’re already moving, it makes it much easier to keep on moving. And then it’s easier to add more movement into your day bit-by-bit until you’re moving enough to get to a weight you’re happy and comfortable with.

 

When I'm decluttering the house, I may start in the kitchen, but when I walk in the bedroom to put something away, will pick up something in there and declutter until it brings me into the next room or back to the kitchen. Lots of walking and bending. Squatting in the garden to pull weeds for 10 to 15 minutes. Putting on music while cooking dinner and dancing way through preparations.

 

Main exercise - treadmilling 4 times a week an hour a day. Has really built up my stamina and energy.

 

How do you add movement to your day?

[Happy]

Day 3 Add Movement to your Day:

 

 

 

When I'm decluttering the house, I may start in the kitchen, but when I walk in the bedroom to put something away, will pick up something in there and declutter until it brings me into the next room or back to the kitchen. Lots of walking and bending. Squatting in the garden to pull weeds for 10 to 15 minutes. Putting on music while cooking dinner and dancing way through preparations.

 

Main exercise - treadmilling 4 times a week an hour a day. Has really built up my stamina and energy.

 

How do you add movement to your day?

 

Walking and yoga are my favorites. Swimming is good when I have access to a pool.

 

Many best selling authors (Stephen King, Julia Cameron, etc.) say long walks help them prep for writing. There's something meditative and thoughtful about a solitary walk. Plus all that fresh oxygen to the brain can't hurt a thing.

[Robin M]

Day 4: How to find inspiration in Life's moments.

 

Let The Technology Rest

 

If you want to really live in the moment and truly get to enjoy the moment, you have to let go of the technology. Just for a little while.

For the rest of the day today, go technology-free. That’s your challenge for the day.

 

 

Since going technology-free is a big challenge at first, here are some tips to make it a little easier:

 

 

• Purposely leave your phone at home when you go out—not having immediate access to it will make it easier for you to forget about it.
  
• Schedule recordings of all your TV shows—then you can enjoy your time without worrying about missing your shows. If you can’t record them, research times when they will be replayed or ask someone to record them for you.
  
• Announce your plans on social media—let your friends/fans know that you’re taking a short technology break, that way they wait and contact you after your break is over.
  

 

 

This isn't much of a problem for me. *snort* We record all our shows and watch them later because I hate, hate, hate commercials. And periodically unplug for a day, a week, go technology free. Use my phone to listen to audiobooks in the car, but otherwise it’s just there for emergency when I’m out. I don’t talk on the phone while shopping and give 100% attention to whoever I with while out and about. Unplug for the rest of the day. Yeah I can do that. After lunch! For a while. a smidgen. Hey - squirrel! :lol:

[Happy]

Love the unplug post.

 

We did this yesterday (without seeing the post first. Great minds. ;)) I left my phone in my bedroom all day...didn't send a text or any calls allllll day.

I left my computer turned off. All Day.

Unheard of in my daily life.

 

It was a lovely mental break.

[Robin M]

Day 5: Eating healthy and sneaking the good stuff in

 

If you want your creativity to soar, you have to feed your body the fuel it requires for optimal performance (you wouldn’t put regular gasoline in a BMW, right?).

 

Sneaking the good stuff in:

 

 

• A Spinach Bed—before you toss hot pasta into a bowl, first lay down a bed of spinach. The heat from the pasta and sauce will wilt the spinach, then just mix it all together and enjoy.
  
• A Veggie Mash—next time you make mashed potatoes, think of other veggies that could be tossed into the mix. For example, my dad’s mom likes to mash hers with rutabaga. You could also mix potatoes with parsnips (white carrots) or even cauliflower and carrots. The combos are endless. Just choose veggies that will mash when soft, then place them all into a pot of boiling water, when all the veggies are soft, drain the water, let them cool for a minute or two then mash. Add salt, pepper and some olive oil (or butter if you’re not allergic).
  
• A Secret Sauce Thickener—if you’re making tomato sauce, you can get it nice and thick by adding a can of beans. Just use an immersion blender or food processor to puree the sauce before serving it.
  
• Speaking of Sauce—sauce is a great way to sneak veggies in, especially if you blend it up before serving it. I’ve snuck in everything from pumpkin to roasted red peppers to zucchini. It works, and the flavor of tomato sauce goes with pretty much everything.
  
• Sub Avocado—avocados are high in good-for-you fat and have a buttery, creamy texture that makes a great substitute for mayo. Instead of glopping mayo on your next sandwich, mash some avocado and use that. Or use an avocado to replace the mayo (or some of it) the next time you make pasta salad.
  
• Pile veggies on your sandwiches
  
• Cook a side of veggies and mix in with your pasta
  
• Add veggies and fruit to your chicken salad—I’ve used: red grapes, dried cranberries, carrots, celery, onions and even pecans.
  
• Make a salsa—you can turn a large amount of veggies and fruit into many different varieties of salsa, and who doesn’t love eating dip with some tortilla chips?
  
• Green Smoothies—can’t recommend this enough. You can sneak in tons of fruit and veggies with a daily green smoothie. Plus they taste awesome.
  

 

Get a little creative and see how you can add some more veggies into your day today.

 

 

I love avocados and think I'm addicted. Find a way to mix in with sandwich or salad every day.

[Robin M]

Day 6 How to Bust Out of a Routine:

 

 

When you turn your routine on its head, you’ll be amazed what happens. Suddenly you’ll have ideas you didn’t have before. You’ll notice things that you never saw until now.

 

 

It’s like that episode of Seinfeld where George decides he’s going to do the opposite of what he’d usually do for an entire day. His results are insane! He ends up getting a date with a woman who’s out of his league and he gets a job with the NY Yankees.

 

 

He changed up his usual routine and pow! Results shifted.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut with routines. And while it’s important to have routines for certain things (like writing), it’s also a good idea to change it up every now and then.

Today’s Challenge

 

For the rest of the day today, I’m challenging you to bust out of your routine.

 

 

Drive home from work a different way from your usual commute (still driving home safely of course). Do your usual get-ready-for-bed routine in a different order. Eat dessert before you eat dinner.

 

 

 

How to bust up my routine? My kid doesn't like spontaneity, hubby doesn't much either which means I've lost my spontaneousness. Maybe today we'll go to the nursery and take kiddo out to lunch. Don't care if he doesn't eat, I'll get something different. Think I'm in the mood for japanese.

[Robin M]

Day 7: Strange ways dehydration shows up in your body

 

dehydration has been known to show its face as:

• Food cravings
  
• Headaches
  
• Muscle cramps
  
• Hunger pangs
  

 

 

 

How Much Water Is “Proper Hydration?â€

 

Depends. It’s different for everyone.

 

 

Since your body is made up mostly of water, I always recommend drinking at least half your body weight in ounces every day (or as close to every day as possible).

 

 

Here’s how to figure out what your water intake should be:

 

1. Weigh yourself—Last time I checked I weighed 125 pounds
   
2. Divide the number in half—half of 125 is about 62.5
   

So I should be drinking about 62.5 ounces of water every day, in order to stay hydrated.

 

 

There will be some days you drink more and others you drink less. It’s all about trial and error and creating a balance. If you feel thirsty, drink more. If you feel hydrated with no cravings/headaches, drink less that day.

 

I drink lots of water. 2 glasses with lunch and 2 glasses with dinner. Then green tea or water inbetween. I probably end up drinking about 64 ounces a day. Believe me I worked my way up to that amount over a period of time. Love water now - hates sodas. Don't drink them at all.

[DragonFaerie]

I drink lots of water. 2 glasses with lunch and 2 glasses with dinner. Then green tea or water inbetween. I probably end up drinking about 64 ounces a day. Believe me I worked my way up to that amount over a period of time. Love water now - hates sodas. Don't drink them at all.

 

I am the complete and total opposite. I hate drinking water, but I drink LOTS of sodas (too much by far, although I do drink "zero" or diet rather than full-sugar) and sweet tea. But, I'm going to try. I filled my water pitcher and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. :001_huh:

[aggieamy]

I'm joining a bit late to this challenge but am going to get started by getting some water to drink right now. I'll try to catch up tomorrow by having an interesting and creative breakfast!

[Robin M]

Week 8 - take charge of your sleep debt

 

Sleep Debt: You know how you have a hard time making it through your entire day without feeling tired or wishing you could take a nap at some point? That’s your sleep debt, and it’s pretty hard to ever make it go away. Think of it the same way you’d think of your bank account. If you take more money out than you put in, you’re going to end up in debt. Same goes for sleeping.You expect a lot from your body, you expect it to carry you through all the things you need to do in your day. But when you don’t get enough sleep, you’re not giving your body what it needs to do its job.And the amount of sleep you didn’t get racks up and becomes what’s known as a sleep debt. A sleep debt can wreck havoc on your body, your mind and your life.

 

 

 

 

Lack of sleep might be OK for someone who doesn’t create things. But for a creative person like yourself, lack of sleep can take a major toll on your creativity. If you want to perform at your best and be the most badass creative writer you can possibly be, that requires a serious commitment to getting enough sleep. Sure, there will be nights when you just can’t get your full 8 hours no matter how much you try. But if you aim to get a nap in whenever you don’t get a full night of sleep, and take naps whenever they’ve available to you, you can start to put some hours back into your sleep bank.

 

 

Today, your challenge is to get at least eight hours of sleep when you go to bed tonight. And to squeeze a nap in at some point today, even if it’s only for 20 minutes.

 

My issue is I'm an early bird and hubby a night owl. I get up 7:30 or so and end up going to bed around 12:00. If I don't get enough sleep, I start feeling grumpy. It will catch up with me after a few days and I'll either zonk out around 11:00 or fall asleep on the couch and then sleep in till 8:30/9:00 for a couple days. I hate sleeping in til later because then it cuts off my morning writing time. I also feel less creative. Some days I wish I was like one of those people who only needs 4 hours sleep.

[Robin M]

I am the complete and total opposite. I hate drinking water, but I drink LOTS of sodas (too much by far, although I do drink "zero" or diet rather than full-sugar) and sweet tea. But, I'm going to try. I filled my water pitcher and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. :001_huh:

 

I used to drink nothing but sodas. Then started doing the treadmill and when the calories of an hours work out equaled one drink, it was kind of disheartening. I had an allergy to corn when young and thought had outgrown in. Last year decided to cut out the corn and corn syrup and wow, what a change. Felt so much better. I was drinking 3 to 4 pepsi's a day and now don't drink any sodas at all. Once I dropped the sodas, lost about 10 pounds. So - cheering you on to replacing the sodas with water. Replace the sugar craving with a piece of dentyne gum or some like.

 

I'm joining a bit late to this challenge but am going to get started by getting some water to drink right now. I'll try to catch up tomorrow by having an interesting and creative breakfast!

 

Yeah. What was your creative breakfast?

[aggieamy]

Yeah. What was your creative breakfast?

 

I made zucchini bread. Doesn't sound very creative unless you consider that normally it's toast. :) I was inspired so I made four loaves and am going to give the rest away to friends.

[Robin M]

Day 9 Shortcut for relieving stress

 

the culprit - stress:

 

Life keeps you busy, busy, busy. And a busy life often brings on the cause of your irritability, overwhelm and inability to write. The true culprit? Stress. When you’re stressed out your fuse is a lot shorter than it usually is. Your attitude isn’t positive. That can make it a huge challenge to get writing done and be creative. Creativity requires relaxation. It requires you to feel your true emotions and be able to express things on a page.

 

 

The solution - laughter

 

 

 

If you’re in need of instant stress relief, I have your solution. It’s called laughter, and it’s a fast, free, convenient way to relieve stress right when it comes on.

 

 

There are a million things to laugh about, here are some ideas to get your laughter-ball rolling:

 

 

• Ask the people around you to tell you the funniest joke they know
  
• Watch a hilarious video on YouTube
  
• Think back to a time when something ridiculously funny happened and replay it in your head
  
• Keep silly pictures on your phone to look at when you need a chuckle
  
• Write down when funny things happen in your life so you can go back and re-read them when you want to
  

 

The laughter possibilities are endless. The more you laugh, the less stressed your body will feel.

 

 

Today your challenge is to laugh as much as you can.

 

[Robin M]

Day 10: Energy Boosting Equation

 

Eating protein and fiber will keep your energy levels high and stable throughout the day.

Where To Find Protein and Fiber

 

You can find protein in a wide range of foods straight from nature, including:

 

• Meat—if you’re not a vegetarian/vegan, meat is a great source of protein, but it shouldn’t be your main source. There is way too much meat in the average American’s diet, and conventional meat is one of the biggest problems with the American food system (don’t even get me started!). I’m not saying meat is bad, I’m just saying it’s nice to eat meatless meals at least a few times a week for balance purposes.
  
• Seafood—fish, shellfish and other types of seafood have protein. Look for wild-caught, not farm-raised.
  
• Eggs—when eaten in moderation, eggs are a good source of protein. Just be sure to eat the yolk too, that’s where the protein is.
  
• Beans—although they might make you think back to that lovely grade school rhyme (‘beans, beans, the magical fruit…â€), beans are a fantastic source of protein and they’re a double-whammy because they’re also an excellent source of fiber. They come in a huge variety so you can definitely find some that you enjoy.
  
• Peas—lentils and chickpeas are another way to get protein and fiber into your diet.
  
• Nuts—nuts get a bad rep for being “too high in fat.†They are high in fat, but it’s the good fat that your body needs. Plus nuts make great snacks because they have so much protein. Nut butters, like peanut butter, also count.
  
• Seeds—pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds all have protein.
  
• Dairy—although I don’t recommend eating too much dairy, if you’re not allergic to it, it can definitely be one of your protein sources. A few cubes of cheese or a cup of Greek yogurt is a protein-packed snack that will energize your writing session.
  
• Whole Grains—grains like quinoa and brown rice are packed with protein to help ward off hunger.
  
• Soy—edamame (soy bean pods) and tofu are good proteins every now and then, but don’t use them as a main source. Also, look for soy beans/tofu that’s marked “non-GMO,†which means it doesn’t come from genetically modified soy beans.
  

As for fiber, you can find that in:

 

• Fruits—even though fruit has sugar, it’s natural sugar, and fruit contains so much other good-for-you stuff like vitamins and minerals, that it’s perfectly OK to eat it a few times a day.
  
• Vegetables—fiber, fiber, fiber, any and all. Plus vitamins, minerals and nutrients too.
  
• Whole Grains—wheat, yes, but also buckwheat, millet, quinoa, brown rice, etc.
  
• Beans, Peas—as mentioned above, beans and peas are an excellent source of fiber.
  
• Nuts—these also contain fiber, which is another great reason to eat them.
  

[Robin M]

Day 11: Secret all successful people know

 

Secret to writing success is having a writing routine

 

A writing routine is the difference between a casual writer who dabbles now and then, and a successful writer who makes her dreams come true.

 

It’s not about someone being a better writer than you are or having more ideas than you do. It’s the fact that successful writers consistently show up to the page, every single day without exception or excuses.

 

If you want to be a successful writer too, you need to do these 3 things at the very least:

 

• Give Up Any and All Excuses—hard to do, yes, but worth it. Excuses hold you back from achieving things in your life. They keep you from fulfilling all the dreams you have for your writing. You only have so much time on this Earth, why waste it making excuses? I know you’re scared, we all are. But successful writers push through the fear because that’s what it takes. Nothing worthwhile is ever going to be easy.
  
• Get Into A Writing Routine and Never Stop—Stephen King writes every single day of his life (don’t believe me? Read On Writing). He shows up to the page. He does the work. Everything he writes may not be best-seller quality at first, but he knows that’s what revisions are for. He doesn’t let the possibility of writing something awful stop him from writing. First drafts are ****, that’s just how it is. But you can’t get to the good stuff without writing some ****ty stuff first. Routine will help you get to the good stuff, dabble-writing here or there won’t.
  
• Push Through—stuff is gonna come up. Life will get in the way. You will feel the fear. The fear will almost paralyze you at times. But you gotta push through. You gotta keep working toward what you want. Feel the fear and do it anyways, that’s the mantra of successful writers. Adopt it for yourself.
  

 

The same goes whether it is writing or anything else.

[Robin M]

Day 12 - 3 Ways to stretch after a writing session

 

Or after sitting at the computer blog browsing or chatting too long or reading too long.

 

Jennifer has a video showing 3 stretches - go check it out.

[Robin M]

Day 13 How to use food to inspire your creativity

 

Farm Market Creativity Challenge

 

Your challenge for today/this weekend is to visit your local farm market. Here’s what I’m challenging you to do:

• Pick out some produce that looks beautiful
  
• Arrange everything on your kitchen table/counter and take a picture (and upload it to the InkyBites Facebook page so we can all enjoy it).
  
• Turn your purchases into a creative meal. You don’t have to use everything you bought in one meal, just use what inspires you.
  

You’ll never know how much creativity really goes into the cooking process until you take a moment to spend time in the kitchen. Kitchen creativity is so much fun because it’s all an experiment.

Through kitchen experimenting with farm market finds, I’ve come up with some amazing meals, including an escarole and artichoke dip, a grilled veggie pizza with goat cheese brie and a quiche full of farm-fresh produce and eggs.

 

[Robin M]

Day 14 - Guaranteed way to create backlog of writing ideas

 

Brainstorming With A Magazine

 

Here’s the process I used to brainstorm about a hundred new ideas for my writing:

 

1. Grab a stack of magazines—It’s best to get magazines in a variety of genres, that way you’re exposing yourself to different types of headlines and content. If you don’t have any magazines laying around, head to the local bookstore or library.
   
2. Grab a notebook and pen/pencil—You’ll need a way to write down all the awesome new ideas you’re about to generate.
   
3. Sit in a comfortable place—A must for any brainstorming session.
   
4. Starting with the first magazine, read all of the headlines on the cover.
   
5. Brainstorm how the topics in your genre can fit the headlines you’re reading. For example, a headline from a fitness magazine might say, “Exercise 101: Your Guide to Fitness Basics,†and you could turn that around and use it for almost any niche. For this blog, I might use the following: “Writing 101: Your Guide to Creativity-Building Basics.â€
   
6. Flip through the magazine, reading the headlines and anything that stands out to you. Continue to write down all ideas that pop in your head. (Remember, just because you write an idea down doesn’t mean you have to use it. This is a brainstorming session, write every idea down. You can refine the list later.)
   
7. Repeat with the next magazine in your stack.
   

This process is a simple way to generate a long list of viable writing ideas. And it doesn’t take more than 20-30 minutes per magazine (or less if you just look at the cover headlines) to do this exercise. This process also works well to help you snap out of a “writer’s block†moment.

Your challenge today/this weekend is to bury yourself in the magazine stacks for at least an hour. I guarantee you’ll walk away with a long list of things to write.

 

I'm totally blocked and don't have any ideas (mainly because of stressing about elderly parent health issues) so going to try this and see how it works.

[Robin M]

The One Thing Your Creativity Can't Live Without

 

A Creativity Break

 

Sometimes the best thing for your creativity is to take some time off. Not a lot of time, but time here and there. Your creativity will be recharged the strongest when you immerse yourself in life and just enjoy yourself.

So stop reading this post and take the rest of the night off. Spend time with your friends or family. Take an hour with your favorite hobby. Or just sit around doing nothing.

 

 

 

 

For me, just sitting out on my patio enjoying nature, gardening, even reading recharges my batteries.

[Robin M]

A Simple Way to Figure Out Which Foods are Right for your Body

 

When you’re making changes to your food, you may not even notice if you’re having any different results. And that’s because you don’t usually think much about what you’re eating and how it’s making you feel. Your life is too busy for that.But if you really want to make the changes that will keep your creative well flowing, you need to start keeping track of what you eat.

 

 

This is not for calorie-counting purposes. I don’t believe in or support calorie counting (it’s no way to live). You should track the food you’re eating so that you can figure out which foods make you feel good, which give you the most energy and which foods you should be avoiding. That’s how you make permanent changes.

How To Track What You Eat

 

It’s simple. Just:

 

• Get a small notebook.
  
• Every time you eat, fill out the following information: what you ate, when you ate it, how you felt afterwards and how you felt 1-2 hours later (hungry, lethargic, energized, moody, etc).
  
• Bonus: you can track your creativity levels too. Just write down how each of your creative sessions went in relation to the food you ate prior to the session.
  

 

Couldn’t be easier. And after a couple weeks, you’ll begin to notice patterns between the way you feel and the food you’re eating.

 

As a child I had sensitivity to wheat and corn and was lactose intolerant. Thought had grown out of the wheat and corn part over the years and worried less about it. Couple years back started the heart healthy diet with all the brown rice, wheat bread, etc and wasn't feeling great. Decided it wasn't working for me and cut out all corn and corn related products and wow, never felt better in my life. You have to do what works for you. One interesting tidbit - while pregnant with James my metabolism changed and no longer lactose intolerant.

 

I did have chinese take out yesterday and feeling it today. Blah!

[Robin M]

Is this Creativity Power Food Missing from your Diet?

 

 

 

The food missing from most diets is dark, leafy green vegetables. Things like spinach, kale, collards, bok choy or Swiss chard, etc.

You may currently be eating the most popular of the dark, leafy greens—broccoli—but that’s usually where it stops for most people. And the thing is, greens aren’t just another health food. They’re the golden egg of health food. Increase the amount in your diet and see huge differences in how you feel.

Greens are great for:

 

 

• Energy
  
• Blood purification
  
• Cancer prevention
  
• Improved circulation
  
• Strengthened immune system
  
• Promotion of healthy intestinal flora
  
• Promotion of subtle, light and flexible energy
  
• Lifted spirit and elimination of depression
  
• Improved liver, gall bladder and kidney function
  
• Cleared congestion, especially in lungs by reducing mucus
  

 

Plus, in Asian medicine, green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity.

More Benefits of Eating Green

 

 

Nutritionally, greens are very high in:

 

 

 

 

• Calcium
  
• Magnesium
  
• Iron
  
• Potassium
  
• Phosphorous
  
• Zinc
  
• Vitamins A, C, E and K
  

 

They are also crammed with fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll and other micronutrients.

 

 

 

Big romaine and red tipped lettuce fan here. Have been eating salads almost every day of the week. A week or so ago, didn't and wasn't feeling all that great. My favorite vegetable is broccolli. Gave up spinach with all the e-coli scare years ago and just don't trust it anymore. Tried Kale and Collards - meh! Will have to try swiss chard and see how that goes.

[Robin M]

okay folks.. have an elderly parent health issue to deal with for the next few days. Check out the rest of the 31 days at Inkybites.com if you are interested.