Spring Forward into Creativity Walks

Creativity walks are what I turn to whenever I feel depleted, stuck, flooded with ideas, or even celebratory. They’re my reset button.

Sometimes I reach a point in my work where the ideas simply stop. I’ve given everything I have and my mind goes blank. Other times it’s the opposite problem: too many ideas. So many possibilities that I can’t tell which one deserves my attention. And sometimes I take a walk before or after an intense creative session, just to process what happened and make space for what might come next.

When any of those moments hit, I stop what I’m doing and go for a walk in nature.

Not a power walk. Not exercise. Not a multitasking walk.

A creativity walk has one purpose: to let my mind unravel so something new can form.

There are a few personal rules. I don’t listen to music or podcasts. I don’t bring a friend. I don’t take calls. My phone stays in my pocket. I’m not tracking steps or trying to raise my heart rate. The only commitment is to move my body through nature and give my mind permission to wander.

And something remarkable almost always happens.

Ideas reorganize themselves. Questions start to soften. Solutions that felt impossible begin to appear. I return with a clearer perspective, renewed energy, and often the exact next step I needed but couldn’t access while sitting at my desk.

If I begin the walk with a burning question, I almost always come back with an answer.

There’s also usually a time threshold before the magic happens. For me, it’s around forty minutes. The first part of the walk is often just mental noise—replaying conversations, rehearsing tasks, clearing the clutter of the day. But somewhere past the halfway point, my brain settles. That’s when the deeper thinking begins. Your threshold might be shorter or longer, but I’d bet you have a similar moment where the mind shifts from busy to open.

This isn’t just a personal ritual—it’s something supported by research. In The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain, Annie Murphy Paul explores how thinking doesn’t only happen inside the brain. Our bodies, our movement, and our environments actively shape how we generate ideas and solve problems. Walking—especially in natural environments—has been shown to increase creative thinking, improve problem solving, and help new insights emerge.

In other words, stepping away from the desk isn’t procrastination. It’s part of the creative process.

As winter begins to thaw and the first daffodils start pushing through the dirt, it’s a perfect time to experiment with your own creativity walk. If you’re hitting a wall, or about to dive into an intense project, give yourself the space to wander. Leave the noise behind. Let your feet move through the trees and see what your mind starts to say when it finally has room to speak.

You might be surprised how quickly the path forward appears.