Lifted straight from my notes on a book about creativity called Imagine, by Jonah Lehrer.

Take a hot shower

Coffee

amphetamines

be in a good mood (insight is more likely to occur to an optimist.)

play

work at not giving a fuck—leave the mind

approach a task as an outsider with a fresh perspective

travel (see above)

wait a long time before redrafting a manuscript. Time off gives you an outsider’s perspective.

learn about fields that have nothing to do with what you’re studying.

work with other people that you are familiar with—but not too familiar. That in-between is the sweet spot for creative collaboration

new ideas often come from random conversations with other people

a book is like a conversation

ride a bike around in a city

spend time in cities. Bigger cities foster bigger creativity.

develop a large social network, network and collaborate

constructive criticism works

work in close physical proximity with collaborators. At the same table is ideal.

plan unplanned conversations

bad poets borrow, great poets steal

to succeed once, fail a bunch

ART IS WORK.

grit—sticking with it, is a bigger factor than anything else.

be curious

creativity takes chutzpah

80% of success is showing up