For decades now, scientists and psychologists have put creativity under the microscope (actually the fMRI) but, because much of its workings lurk in the unconscious, it remains largely an enigma. Some neuroscientists have located creative thought largely in the right side of the brain, but not much is known regarding how it operates or why the muse decides to make a cognitive visit (or leave abruptly). Creativity is seen as a kind of shapeshifting of the human mind that makes it impossible to predict when an “aha moment” will arrive and what form it will take.

Some researchers, however, have found there to be psychological connections to creativity that can be potentially useful in attracting the muse when she is in the neighborhood. Here are seven ways to apply findings from the field to help us be more creative.

1. Have a routine.

Creativity may be footloose and fancy-free but reigning it in often requires having some sort of routine. “As strange as it sounds, creativity can become a habit,” noted Jonathan Plucker, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Indiana University. Structuring your day with certain activities at certain times can provide a psychological framework for sparks to fly,........

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