Your creativity is sacred, and how you care for it matters. Whether you’re a working artist, a weekend creative, or someone rekindling your artistic rhythm, these eight practices are here to support you. As artist and owner of ByBriAdams, I know firsthand that creativity thrives in spaces that are thoughtful, inspired, and nourished. Here’s how to keep your momentum with 8 Ways to Elevate Your Creative Productivity.
1. Organize Your Space with Intention
The space you create in, should support your vision, not stress you out. A well-organized studio, desk, or corner can transform the way you work. I’ve lost more hours than I can count hunting for supplies instead of creating. Placing tools, materials, and visuals where they’re easy to access clears not only your surface, but also your mind.
If you’re the “out of sight, out of mind” type like me, keep what you use most visible. And if it helps you feel at peace and inspired, consider integrating color, texture, and structure into your setup. Your space should feel like a part of your creative identity.
2. Document the Vision
Erykah Badu once tweeted: “Write it down on real paper with a real pencil with real intent and watch it get real. Spelling is a Spell.” What a poignant reminder of the importance of writing goals, writing actions to assist in bringing them to fruition.
Whether you journal, whiteboard, or voice memo, documenting your ideas helps move them from abstract to actionable. Try setting creative goals for the week or month, or breaking big projects into bite-sized steps. Personally, I write my ideas multiple times, in different places. It keeps them alive in my mind and opens room for fresh insight or unexpected inspiration.
Think of it as making your art practice visible to you first.
3. Dress Like a Creative
Your outfit can be a soft ritual to enter your creative mindset. For me, dressing creatively helps me feel grounded and expressive. My go-tos? Breathable fabrics, functional pockets, light layers and pieces that tell a story or have a clear message. I still love a graphic tee look. Not sure if the millennial in me will ever grow out of that.
Sometimes I customize my clothes or pick pieces with cultural, artistic, or emotional meaning. Clothing is just another canvas. If fashion isn’t your thing, skip this tip. But if it resonates, explore what dressing with intention could do for your creativity. I especially have fun with this by trying to imitate certain personas or have a personal theme for the week like maybe only a color, or type of clothing (dresses) for the whole week.
4. Consume More Art
Inspiration doesn’t just strike, it needs room to enter. Space to expand. Opportunity to merge with other ideas. Make time to absorb what others have created. Whether it’s a film, a visual art exhibit, a playlist, or a poetry collection…art fuels art.
Pay attention to what moves you. Let it inform your style, your subject matter, or even your palette. Every interpretation of the human experience has something to teach us, but I find this most powerful in Black creatives navigating and having to reframing our worlds.
5. Get Moving
Take a walk. Stretch. Dance. Creativity is a full-body process, and movement helps unlock stuck energy. Science supports it, but so does lived experience and some of my best ideas show up mid-walk.
Movement isn’t just about exercise; it’s about shifting your perspective and reconnecting with your body, especially if your art practice tends to be still or screen-heavy.
6. Build With Other Creatives
The creative community is priceless. Over the past year, I’ve prioritized being around other artists. Collaborating, sharing resources, giving feedback, or just spectating other creatives has helped SO much in my practice and figuring out my lane as a creative.
No one creates in a vacuum. Some of your most meaningful breakthroughs could be waiting in a conversation, a group studio session, or even a shared playlist. I plan to highlight my favorite Atlanta-based creative spaces here and will continue sharing hubs from other cities too, as I discover them.
Start by finding where the creatives gather and go there.
7. Practice Intentional Rest
As an artist and educator, I truly believe rest is productive. Not just sleep (though that matters, too), but active rest: taking a break, being still, engaging in joy without guilt.
Rest helps regulate your nervous system, refuels your emotional well, and reopens your capacity to create from a fuller place. Whether it’s laying down your tools for a weekend, enjoying time with loved ones, or stepping away from pressure: this pause is part of the process.
You cannot create sustainably without rest. You can not pour from an empty cup. I remind myself of this often.
8. Play With New Mediums
Children are wildly creative because the babies aren’t afraid to play. Tap into that energy. Try a material you’ve never used before, explore an unfamiliar technique, or create something you don’t plan to finish.
Remove the pressure to make it “good” and just make it. Play lets you reconnect with curiosity, which is often the birthplace of bold and innovative work. Whether you paint with your hands, collage with found objects, or rearrange your space as art, allow yourself to explore without expectations.
Final Thoughts
Productivity doesn’t mean nonstop output, it means honoring your creativity with practices that sustain it. At ByBriAdams, we hold space for artists to thrive, especially Black creatives who often carry the weight of both art and survival.
Whether you’re building a gallery wall, reworking your studio setup, or just figuring out your next move, these tools are here to support your journey. Create in a way that feels like care.