Why Creativity Matters: What Happens When We Make Space to Create

Most of our days are built around getting things done — answering emails, solving problems, attending meetings and moving from one responsibility to the next. We rarely make time to create simply for the experience of creating.

But stepping outside of that routine can do more than give us a break. Creative experiences invite us to use our minds differently, become more present in what we're doing and interact with the people around us in ways that don't always happen during the normal course of a day.

And you don't have to consider yourself “creative” to experience the benefits.

Creativity Changes How We Think

Creativity asks the brain to move beyond the obvious. Whether we're painting, building, designing or solving an unfamiliar challenge, we have to make choices, experiment and respond to what happens along the way.

Research on creativity suggests that creative thinking doesn't rely on one single part of the brain. Instead, it involves interaction among different brain networks associated with spontaneous thought, attention and cognitive control. In other words, creativity often requires us to generate ideas while also evaluating, refining and shaping them.

That's one reason a creative experience can feel so different from the routines that fill much of our day. Instead of following a familiar path, we're exploring what might happen next.

Creativity isn't about being artistic. It's about giving ourselves the opportunity to think, explore and respond differently.

Creativity Can Help Us Connect Differently

Most of our interactions happen within familiar roles. We meet as coworkers, managers, clients, parents, volunteers or friends — often having the same kinds of conversations in the same kinds of settings.

Creating something together changes the environment. The focus shifts away from titles, tasks and to-do lists toward a shared experience. People can talk, laugh, exchange ideas and discover things about one another that may never come up in an ordinary meeting or conversation.

The value isn't necessarily in what gets created. Sometimes, it's what happens while we're creating that matters most.

Creativity Gives Our Minds Room to Wander

Some of our best thinking happens when we stop trying so hard to find the answer. Stepping away from focused work gives the mind an opportunity to wander, make unexpected connections and revisit a problem from a different perspective.

Researchers call this the incubation effect — the idea that stepping away from a problem for a period of time can support creative problem-solving. During periods of less focused thought, the brain isn't simply switching off. Different networks continue to interact as our minds move between memories, ideas and possibilities.

That may be why an idea sometimes appears while we're walking, driving, showering or doing something completely unrelated to the problem we were trying to solve. The answer didn't necessarily come out of nowhere — we gave our minds room to approach it differently.

Sometimes stepping away from the problem is part of solving it.

Making Space for Creativity

Creativity doesn't have to mean becoming an artist, starting a new hobby or adding another thing to our schedules. Sometimes it simply means giving ourselves permission to step outside the familiar and experience something differently.

In workplaces, organizations and communities, those moments can create opportunities for people to connect beyond their usual roles, approach ideas from a new perspective and simply enjoy creating something together.

We spend so much of our time focused on what needs to happen next. Making room for creativity gives us permission to pause.

Stop. Connect. Create.