Feel like you’ve lost that creative spark? We’ve all been there. Looming deadlines, uninspired projects, overstuffed inboxes (not to mention global warming). It’s enough to extinguish our creative fire. Here are 11 ways to light a fire under your creativity.

Keep learning. Being the perpetual student is critical for creativity. Take a class at a local university or online. Learn a new language using a free app like Busuu.com or check out audio CDs from the Library.

Try a different medium. If you’re a writer, take up photography. If you’re a painter, try cake decorating. You get the picture.

Read. Read for pleasure, general news, or industry news. Another way to keep the creativity flowing is to read beyond what you normally read. If you’re the type that only reads non-fiction, pick up a spy novel or book of short stories. The idea is to get outside your comfort zone and stretch your mind by reading something you don’t normally read.

Change your environment. Try moving your furniture around in your office. Drive a different route to work, to church, or to the store. You’ll be amazed at what you notice when you switch up your normal surroundings or routine.

Get moving. Bestselling author Seth Godin suggests taking regular 10-minute walks and coming back with at least five written ideas on how to improve what you offer the world.

Spend time with other creatives, thinkers, and visionaries. Bruce Nussbaum, author of Creative Intelligence refers to this as a creativity circle. I just call them friends. Try to find people who work outside your department or company and have diverse backgrounds and experiences. Meet on a regular basis over coffee, lunch, or dinner. Talk about projects you’re working on, share ideas and challenges. Surrounding yourself with smart, creative people will challenge and inspire you.

Manage your time. You need time to work, to create. If you’re going to do meaningful work, you need time to do it. Time is limited, so learn to say no and learn to manage your time to its maximum potential.

Unplug regularly. Allow time for thoughtful contemplation. Unplug from all your social media accounts, email, and phone, and enjoy a little solitude. Give yourself time to let creative ideas germinate and grow. It’s hard to do that if you have a lot of distractions.

Do something to serve someone else. Creative work can be all consuming, and it’s easy to become so involved in our work that we forget about the world around us. Taking a break from ourselves can help us tap into insights about the people around us.

Ignore your inner critic. You know, it’s that voice inside that says, “Oh, that’s a dumb idea, don’t tell anyone that. Everyone will hate it.” Try not to let your inner critic dampen your creativity. You never know when a dumb idea might turn into a great one.

Gather inspiration. Always be on the hunt for things that inspire you and move you to creativity. It can be images, headlines, book covers, articles, video clips, TV shows, anything. The idea is to have a stockpile of ideas you can go to for inspiration. I used to have a three ring binder and a notebook to store clippings, pages of magazines, and notes. Now, I use Evernote to catalog all my ideas. The key is to revisit what you collect. Some of the things I’ve collected turn into concrete projects and other things get edited out.