Life needs energy. Death is the result of no energy. Physical death when our body ceases to function; creative death when we try to draw from an energy reserve long since drained. Implementing this post will have a significant impact on your life and your creative efforts.
Ever been told "You are what you eat"? That would make me half pizza, half hamburger. It did make me fat and lethargic. For years I wanted to do more. To be more. To live more. Yet I ate junky food. My actions prevented achieving my goals and I was frustrated. I carry years of poor choices on my waist but have shed a few of them by eating better. Not some fad, or some chemical concoction, but healthy food eaten in reasonable quantities. Here's a number for you: 10. Our household was disrupted for a couple weeks and we went back to eating poorly. Soda, fast fried food, large portions. Habitual bad choices. Within a week of returning to real food I lost the eight pounds I had gained and a lost a couple extra for good measure. I'm eating real food and still eating more than I should but losing weight. No marathon exercise sessions (they don't make you lose weight, anyway), no starvation. Just healthy food. Check out some great eating if you want to give your creativity real life.
Yeah, we are told that writers live on coffee (or alcohol) and programmers drink gallons of flavored high sugar, high caffeine, liquids. The world is full of lousy stories and bad code; get the hint. You, however, need to produce your best. That means not constricting your brain's blood vessels. Caffeine makes them shrink. Know what a "caffeine headache" is? When you stop drinking caffeine the blood vessels in your brain actually expand to their proper size. Avoid caffeine, drink lots of water, push through the headache, and you'll be quickly raise your brain function. How much better will your story be when you have an extra ten to fifteen percent of your brain working on it? Think your physical stress level might go down if your blood isn't chemically restricted? You bet! If you're older, like me, consider your blood pressure.
Okay, I did say exercise won't make you lose weight. Directly, anyway. My friend Jon Haas has a great explanation of why "Mobility Practice" helps you. We're not talking about becoming the next Arnold Schwarzenegger! But you don't want to be the Pillsbury Doughboy, either. Mobility practice will get your blood flowing and help your body recover if you've made some of my mistakes. Look up "Baduanjin", skip the imagery in the names, and do a five minute practice three times a week. It will build your energy level and at the same time make it much easier for your body to support those bursts of creative energy you ask it for.
Want to super charge your creativity? Maybe put some energy in your life? Commit to twenty-one days of real food, water, and Mobility Practice. Your readers, end users, and body will love you for it.