If you’d told me three years back that I’d be splitting my time between raising twins and writing from home, I would have been dumbstruck. Don’t get me wrong: it’s EXACTLY what I’ve always wanted–eerily so. I was just so set in my safe routine of teaching English, with writing ideas flowing but no real opportunities to make much of them.

Fast-forward a few short years, and I’m slowly making good on those ideas and working consistently as a writer. However, the “boys upstairs,” the creative muse–whatever you want to call it–have to be courted a good bit more than before. Coaxed into corroboration not beaten into submission. In short: I need inspiration.

Regardless of how we all spend our days, we need to be inspired. Even cooking can range from sheer culinary revelation to the most mundane daily task. Caring for kiddos day in and day out is a treat or an opportunity to bash one’s head into the wall as all parties involved are bored unto tears (no exaggeration necessary). The difference, of course, is perspective. And perspective is always rooted in inspiration.

Here are some ways I typically exercise with those fickle fellas upstairs:

1. Get your rear in gear–literally. I thought it was mere coincidence that I’d think more clearly while on the treadmill, but it seems I’m not alone. A friend recently described a writer’s room on the ABC lot as having ellipticals and treadmills at the ready as they work.

2. Write it down already. I always travel with a thin notebook in my bag. Always. Great ideas come and go quickly, despite thinking the better they are the more they’ll stick around. That’s never the case.

3. There’s an App for that. “Sesame Street” wrote a song about it, so you know it’s true; there really is a smart phone app for everything. Memo pads, voice memos, phone cameras–I use them all and regularly. Ideas and inspiration sneak up and kiss you, ever a tease.

4. White noise. I always work with noise in the background. Music is best, but a very familiar film (all lines memorized) works and sets a mood for me without distraction.

5. Oblique Strategies. The hubs originally told me about this one. Producer Brian Eno along with Peter Schmidt created this site (you can also buy a nifty stack of packaged cards for on-the-go inspiration) giving you ideas to un-stick yourself. Inspiration ranges from the literal (“Make a [blank] valuable by putting it in an exquisite frame”) to the vague (“Remove specifics and convert to ambiguities”). There’s also the simple, “Turn it upside down.”

6. Meditate. Call it meditation. Call it prayer. With all this social media around, we all need to create space to think. (Philippians 4:8) “… Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

7. Experience other art. Books, film, music, gallery work, home design. We all need beauty, and there’s no shame in it. Looking at the natural world only proves Creation is in the deets, peeps.

8. Community. Who wants to be the only one in the room talking? Not me. I need other people to speak into my life and just to make me laugh. I need to get outside of my own head.

9. Magazines. What can I say? I like to look at pictures first and then read the text. I still have every issue of my beloved (and now defunct) Domino magazine, which I pick up a few times a week, usually on that treadmill.

10. People-watching. Oh, God bless it, I do love creeping in a cafe. Other people are SO much more interesting than I am. Characterization jackpot!

11. Singing. Loudly. Please don’t judge me. My former life as an actor equipped me with an infinite repertoire of show tunes, which can be sung (ahem… and danced to) in the privacy of one’s home. The result is jarring to a creative block, but embarrassing to one’s self esteem if an audience is in attendance. Practice with caution.

Okay, I’ve come clean. Does anyone have any ideas for me? I’m always looking for something new. Purdy please?

Photo credit: The Madison Avenue Journal