5 Ways To Tap Into Your Creativity During Your Lunch Break

All of the various creative outlets have one thing in common: the ability to immerse yourself in something, freeing your mind of worry, stress and being generally "on." It's a beautiful thing, really, to be so dialed into creating something that you lose track of time and everyday worries while you're living in the moment. While this sounds like a lot of hippie bologna that no real person would have time for, there's actually some merit to carving out some time to express yourself creatively.

In 2010, the American Journal of Public Health published a review entitled, "The Connection Between Art, Healing and Public Health," which outlined how creative outlets reduced stress and improved a person's overall well-being.

Now, it may seem near impossible to fit anything into your schedule, but that hour you take on lunch is the perfect time to destress and reenergize yourself to tackle on the second half of the day. Before you even say the words that you're "not a creative person," read through this and at least try something to see how it makes you feel (thank me later).

1. Coloring

Adult coloring books are all the rage, right? Well, have you tried one? It's actually quite fun, and the designs in some books are no joke.

You can grab one just about anywhere these days with any theme that tickles your fancy. Pick up a big pack of color pencils, and try a lunch coloring with your favorite playlist playing in the background. It's actually pretty relaxing.

2. Write

There's a lot of wiggle room here in terms of possibilities and how you go about it. You can do anything here from buying a paper journal and writing in it every day at lunch, to starting a blog online about one of your personal passions.

I personally recommend the latter, and get specific. There's no reason why you can't blog about something you do really well. It doesn't have to be as broad as cooking when you're really good at various ways to cook chicken. People like specifics, and you can certainly grow a following addressing a niche market you're a pro in.

Have fun, and talk about what you love and makes you happy.

3. Draw

Whether you have the ability to sketch portraits or struggle with stick figures, this can be a fun outlet. Obviously, being artistically inclined helps, but for those of us who have trouble, there's still hope.

With a little help from the internet, you can easily find a how-to-draw starting point if you want to spend your lunch with a pencil and paper. You'll surprise yourself how easy it can be if you just take the time to try.

4. Play Music

While this isn't the easiest on a lunch break at work, there are still options for those who play an instrument, or are interested in starting. You could pick up a portable guitar, create some beats on an iPad or simply use your voice and sing.

If you have an iPhone, check out the Music Memo app which can add bass and drums to a simple voice, guitar or piano track without you knowing a thing. It's magical.

5. Take Photos

I get it. We're not all photographers, nor do we want to bear that expense, but we all have a smartphone these days. The camera on your phone is actually pretty great, and you can get a lot of gratification out of taking a little walk in nature or down the street, and snapping some more artistic photos.

With a little reading on photography basics, you can start taking some great shots. Once you get the hang of it, there are endless amounts of apps for editing, and that can be just as fun as taking the shots to begin with. Need a starting point? Check out PicsArt on Android or iOS.

This is just the start. There's a whole slew of things you can potentially do, but the point of this is to encourage you to create. While lunch break might be the time most people cram things in that "have to get done," it's a good time to spend on you, unwinding and diving into an act of passion.

Find your passion and try it out.