There are days when the creative juices just aren't flowing, no matter how hard you try to squeeze.
When that happens, and I know that it's not because I'm tired, either mentally or physically, I have to switch it up.
I go into input mode, reading, watching interesting videos about topics I'm not familiar with, following conversations online, etc.
And it's very easy to get stuck in that mode, so I have to consciously check every now and then if I'm ready to create again.
And then, it's back to coming up with more new things.
A School Senior Asked For My Input
Being asked for input makes a person feel valued.
And being able to see the results of the input contributes tremendously to that feeling.
When I was in Secondary 2, one of my seniors was writing an article for a magazine targeted at teenagers.
He was tasked to visit and write a review about an unusual restaurant that served fried scorpions, ants, and the like. As I understood it, the concept was grounded in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Because he was coming up with questions to ask the owner, he asked if I might be able to come up with one.
I gave him the first question that came to my mind - "Where did the supplies of scorpions and other exotic ingredients come from?"
He said that it was a good question and, if I recall correctly, I saw the question and answer in the published article a couple of months later.
It wasn't some huge accomplishment on my part, but I felt that I had contributed in some small way, and I felt valued because my senior could easily have left it out or not bothered to ask me to begin with.
In part because of this, I frequently ask my students for their thoughts on how to improve their learning experience. If I can, I implement it as soon as possible, so that they can see that their suggestions do make a difference.