This is second part of our series on becoming smarter and sharper.

In the previous episode, I showed you the importance of reading books and how they can help you learn to live well.

Today, you are going to learn about the second aspect of the secret to becoming smarter.

Activity number two: Engage in a creative activity

Everyone is an artist. All of us want to do creative things, create art, learn music, write novels, or emulate Picasso. Some of us give up on these ideas because we feel we are not up to any kind of creative work, and the rest of us just get busy with the life and its dull routine.

So now is your chance to wake up the artist within you and become creative again. If you have ever wanted to be a musician, consider taking out the piano you tucked years ago in the basement, if you wanted to be an artist, get out your crayons and start drawing, if you wanted to write fiction, how about you fictionalize your latest love affair?

You can harness your creative power and tap into your creativity only if you take the time to do a creative task. A task that wouldn’t cost you your job if you muddle up.

A creative activity involves thinking up innovative ways to come up with new outcomes. It makes you look at things from different angles and combine your different perspectives and merge them in one piece. It helps shape your problem-solving and decision-making ability that is the most outstanding characteristic of smart people.

I have always wanted to be an artist. I used to draw sketches on paper way before I got my first computer. I was really good at it. But as it always happens, I had to stem the flow of my creative juices because of the increasingly hectic life routine.

Luckily, in the late nineties, I got a desktop computer and was overwhelmed with the new creative possibilities that ensued. Later on, I was addicted to the Photshop, Macromedia Flash, Illustrator, and all the other tools that let me draw, create, and even animate without the constraints of pen and paper.

The addiction continues to this day. I have even dabbled for a while in web design, and graphic design in general. It is because of my continued interest in creativity that I don’t find blogging even slightly daunting, even though I just started over a month ago.

How to find time for creative activities?

You always have some free time on your hands. You can utilize your free time by engaging in your favorite creative activity. Don’t worry, it’s fun. You won’t feel tired or anything, rather, it will freshen you up (like a good wife!)

Life is incredibly boring and predictable, but when it challenges you with an unpredictable twist of events, you have to be ready for it. If you let your creative side lay in slumber, you probably won’t be sharp-witted enough to deal with the challenge.

How creative are you?

What’s your favorite creative activity? Have you ever wanted to become an artist? Come on, cough it up!

This post was written on Productivity day.