Become More Creative

A few years ago, I stumbled across an idea from Tim Ferriss that completely shifted how I think about creativity. He calls it the ‘creative gym.’ The premise? Creativity isn’t some magical force that visits us when the stars align—it’s a muscle. And like any muscle, if you don’t train it, it atrophies.

At first, I brushed it off. Surely, creativity is different, right? You don’t grind creativity the way you grind out squats at the gym. But then I realized that the times I felt the most ‘stuck’ creatively were also the times I wasn’t exercising it at all. Meanwhile, the periods where I was experimenting, playing, and forcing myself to generate ideas—whether good or bad—were the ones where creativity flowed effortlessly.

So, what does training creativity actually look like? Let’s break it down.

Step 1: Set Your Creative Reps

Tim Ferriss suggests picking a daily creative workout—something structured but playful. It could be:

• Writing 10 ideas a day (à la James Altucher)

• Sketching a doodle every morning

• Writing one paragraph of a story before bed

• Composing a ridiculous song in 5 minutes

The key is not waiting for inspiration but committing to a consistent practice. This builds idea fluency—the ability to generate lots of ideas, even bad ones, which eventually leads to breakthroughs.

I started doing a version of this by forcing myself to write 5 newsletter subject lines a day, even if I had no intention of using them. Most were garbage. Some were okay. A few were gold. But the exercise itself made my brain more nimble when it came time to write something important.

Step 2: Make It Low-Stakes

A big reason people feel creatively blocked is fear of judgment. The creative gym works because it shifts the mindset from “I must create something genius” to “This is just a warm-up.”

Ferriss himself keeps a ‘bad ideas’ list. He writes down deliberately terrible business ideas, jokes, and book concepts. It’s an exercise in letting go of perfectionism. Once you take the pressure off, the good ideas start sneaking in.

If you’re feeling creatively stuck, try this:

• Write the worst possible solution to a problem.

• Create something you know is ridiculous.

• Set a rule that you’re not allowed to use the backspace key for 10 minutes.

Creativity loves play. If it feels too serious, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Step 3: Gamify the Process

One thing I’ve learned? If you make creativity a game, it’s way easier to stick with it.

Ferriss suggests giving yourself constraints—almost like a challenge mode for your brain. For example:

• Write a tweet using only 10 words.

• Explain a complex idea as if you’re talking to a 5-year-old.

• Make a business idea based on two random words from a dictionary.

When constraints are in place, creativity thrives. It’s why hackathons produce brilliant ideas under pressure and why Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs & Ham using only 50 words as a bet.

If you want to go full game-mode, you can:

✅ Track your creative ‘streak’ (how many days in a row you train)
✅ Set a point system (e.g., 5 points for each idea generated)
✅ Join a challenge with friends (first to 100 ideas wins)

Step 4: Steal Like a Scientist

Here’s a Tim Ferriss classic: don’t start from scratch—steal structures that work.

• Want to write a book? Reverse-engineer the structure of one you love.

• Want to design a logo? Copy the shape and proportions of successful ones.

• Want to launch a business? Analyze the models of similar companies.

This isn’t plagiarism—it’s how innovation happens. Every great artist, writer, and entrepreneur stands on the shoulders of others. The trick is to remix, not replicate.

A fun exercise:

1. Pick a creator you admire.
2. Study their work deeply.
3. Copy their structure, but apply your own spin.

When I started my newsletter, I didn’t invent the format. I studied what was working, adapted it, and then made it my own. Speed matters more than originality in the beginning.

Final Takeaway: Creativity is a Gym, Not a Temple

If you’re waiting for some divine aha! moment, stop. Creativity doesn’t work that way. It’s a process. A muscle. A gym session.

You don’t get fit by thinking about working out—you show up, lift the weights, and trust the progress will come. Same with creativity.

So, your challenge? Pick one creative rep and start today. It could be:

🔹 Writing five bad ideas right now
🔹 Doodling something ridiculous in 30 seconds
🔹 Rewriting a famous quote in a weird way

Until next time,

Ajay