Whether you’re a small business owner who creates one-of​-a-kind custom pieces and is stuck on a project or a CEO of a medium-sized company who has run out of ideas, inspiration is not always easy to come by. You don’t often have the luxury of waiting for a muse or an idea to come along – sometimes you have to take action. Try these ways to find inspiration and you just might turn into an idea-making machine:

Move
If you always sit and think about your next project in the same place, such as an office, a particular coffee shop or maybe even in your car, chances are you will run out of ideas. Simply waiting for new thoughts to come isn’t helpful – you need a change of scenery. Get away from your usual places and go somewhere new. Try heading to a library you’ve never visited or sit on a dock by a lake and watch what’s going on in nature. Becoming stagnant can make it really difficult to formulate concepts that you haven’t already thought of. Get out of your routine and you may find yourself feeling inspired. Having trouble with staff inspiration? Bring the whole crew outside the office to a new place like a park or even on a fun bonding outing. You’ll get to know one another and start new ideas flowing in a different environment.

Learn something new
When is the last time you felt excitement as you started mastering something? When we don’t try unfamiliar activities we cannot attain this wonderful feeling. A great way to become inspired is to do something out of the ordinary. Try taking a class on a skill or talent you’ve never been involved in before like salsa dancing, painting or even fencing. As we learn new skills we feel accomplished and reenergized. You may even find yourself approaching life in a different way, which can lead to some great inspiration for both personal and professional work.

Reach out
Talking to people is a great way to find inspiration. Everyone has a completely different set of experiences and ideas to offer. You can learn from each person you meet. Start by asking someone what inspires them. It is likely that their answer will give you some ideas for finding your own inspiration and insight. Just interacting with other people may bring out the creativity that you have been searching for. Be sure to bring a notebook along when you chat – you might need to get started writing, drawing or ideating right away.

Be prepared
You know those moments right before you fall asleep when a great idea pops into your head? You probably thought, “I’ll remember that tomorrow,” and nodded off. Then the next day you realized you completely forgot whatever good idea you had. Don’t let this happen! Always have a pen and paper or your cellphone next to your bed to jot down thoughts that may be useful. If you choose to use a tech device to do this, be sure it is backed up in case you somehow lose your document. It’s seriously frustrating when a note is somehow deleted and all those brilliant thoughts are lost to the universe once again.