Royane Real

It's probably more long ago than you dare to think about.

Maybe too - though you might not openly admit it - you feel your creativity is past its best, those heady long summer creative days of your life are over, and the most you can hope for is an occasionally sunny autumn afternoon?

If you haven't created for a while, whether it's weeks, months or years, these kind of feelings are perfectly understandable.

But don't write yourself off just yet!

Here are 3 simple steps to help you rediscover the creative you that you feared you'd lost for good:

Start small: If you haven't created for a while, it's ambitious to say the least to throw yourself into a 17 piece series of 3m X 2m canvas paintings. Instead start small with a creative project you can finish in an hour or two. Don't be afraid of starting with something very simple - it's better to do this and build your confidence with each new project, rather than try something complex, get stuck and lose confidence in your creativity completely.

Create a little each day: The only way to be consistently creative and to continue to develop and grow, is to create regularly. And since we arrange our lives around a daily calendar, the easiest way to achieve this creative habit is to create everyday. Choose a time when you feel most creative and each day at that time create for at least 15 minutes. It doesn't matter what you create, what's most important is that you create a minimum amount at this same time each day and start to rediscover the creativity habit.

Acknowledge your progress: Because we live with ourselves and what we do everyday, it's often hard to be able to objectively recognise how we're progressing. A great way of doing this is to use a creative landmarks diary or poster. Each time you achieve a creative landmark - however small you might think it is - note it down. It can be "Wrote my first poem in a year" or "Got my easel out for the 7th day running" or "Finished new abstract collage". At the end of each month, look back at your progress. You'll be amazed at how creative you can be in just 30 days.

These are 3 steps to help you rediscover the creativity you feared you might have lost forever.

Start today, commit to making them work and see where you are in 30 days.

You owe it to yourself - and to the world - to get that unique creativity of yours flowing again...