You know the feeling.  You've been on a making roll when suddenly inspiration and creativity desert you.  You're stuck at just the time when you need to be focussing on getting your project done.  There's a deadline and bills to pay.  And you can't possibly make another thing.

It seems counterintuitive but the best thing to do at moments like these is to walk away from what you are doing and go do something else.  I really struggle with this one and tend to want to push through until I collapse in a heap and have a mini breakdown.  I am learning, oh so slowly, to take those breaks.  And when I do take those breaks, inspiration and the urge to make return, refreshed from their impromptu holiday.

My favourite way to take a break and find inspiration is to explore new places.  I found the above "window" when I was recently exploring Spotswood, a little suburb across the Yarra River from the Melbourne CBD.  It's tucked just next to the freeway and is a surprising little oasis surrounded on two sides by busy roads.  Wandering the streets, poking my head into new shops and taking pictures to post on Instagram all helped to recharge my creative batteries and give me some much needed imagining time.

In her book, The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron extols the virutes of going for walks as a way of igniting your creativity.  Exploring new places is great for your brain.  Because you are someplace new, you look around.   You notice details and breathe in strange smells.  Your brain lights up with all the new stimulus and new connections are made.  

Next time you go someplace, try exploring somewhere new.  Even if it's a suburb in your home town or a street in your neighbourhood you've never walked down before.  Your brain and creativity will thank you for it!