creativity exercise

 For this creativity exercise, I used an online activity called the “30 Circles Challenge,” which is designed to help people think faster and more creatively. The exercise is simple but surprisingly difficult. You are given a page with 30 blank circles and only a few minutes to turn as many circles as possible into recognizable objects. The goal is not perfection or artistic skill. The goal is to stop overthinking and train your brain to make creative connections quickly.

I found the exercise online here:
https://www.sessionlab.com/methods/30-circles

When I started the exercise, I immediately realized how much I overthink ideas before putting them down. At first I spent too much time trying to make every drawing look good or trying to come up with something unique. That actually slowed me down a lot. Once I stopped worrying about whether the ideas were “good” and just started creating random things, the exercise became easier and way more fun.

Some of the circles I turned into objects included a basketball, pizza, planet, eyeball, smiley face, clock, donut, steering wheel, volleyball, and even a washing machine door. Toward the end, my ideas became more random and creative because I stopped trying to force perfect answers. It honestly felt like my brain went from walking to sprinting halfway through the activity.

What I learned from this exercise is that creativity is not always about having one amazing idea. A lot of the time it is about generating many ideas quickly without judging yourself too early. The exercise also showed me that creativity can improve with practice. The more I relaxed and trusted my instincts, the easier ideas started flowing.

I also learned that pressure and time limits can actually force people to think outside the box. If I had unlimited time, I probably would have overanalyzed every circle instead of experimenting freely. The fast pace pushed me to be less critical of myself and more willing to take creative risks.

Overall, this exercise helped me understand that creativity is more about momentum and confidence than perfection. Even though the activity seemed simple at first, it was actually a really effective way to train creative thinking and break the habit of overthinking every idea.