Hi, I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson, and you're listening to episode 7 of the savvy psychologist.

I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

We'll use the best of psychology to help you be happy, relaxed, and most importantly, yourself.

During last week's podcast, we talked about six habits and mindsets to coke's creativity

from all corners of your brain.

This week, we have eight strategies you can use to karate chop a creative block.

The idea for these podcasts comes from listener Tai Sea of New York City.

Now if your muse is on strike, what can you do to get it back on the job? Here are eight tips to bring to the negotiating table.

Number 1, check your mood.

It turns out the classic image of the moody, tortured creative artist

isn't quite right.

Researchers at the University of Amsterdam looked at 25 years of studies on creativity

and emotion and found that creativity is maximized when you're in a good mood, not the throws

of melancholic angst. In the study, feeling positive and happy

was associated with greater creativity than feeling neutral. Feeling sad, notably, didn't seem

to do anything, and feeling anxious went with impaired creativity.

So if you're feeling lousy, it's still important to work on your project, but a quick mood booster,

like some jumping jacks in your office, looking at pictures of your favorite vacation, or cuddling with your dog for a few minutes might be a good warm-up activity.

Number two, try open monitoring meditation.

A 2012 study compared the effect of two types of meditation on the creative process.

In the first type focused attention meditation, the meditator

focuses exclusively on one thing, like a candle, her breath, or a mantra. All other

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