How to Plan a Creative Retreat
Creatives travel for many reasons. Learn how to plan a creative retreat to overcome creative blocks, complete projects, boost creativity, and more.
Travel does wonders for the creative mind. It’s played a major role in launching creative renaissances, inspired great works of art, and helped countless creative minds achieve their dreams. Creative retreats are one of the most valuable tools and practice a creative can take.
No matter where you are in the creative process, you can learn how to plan a creative retreat that fits your needs and helps you achieve your dreams.
What is a Creative Retreat?
Throughout history, creatives from every walk of life have traveled to support their creativity because of the numerous health and creative benefits of travel. No matter your creative field, you can plan a creative retreat that supports your goals and lifestyle, but what is a creative retreat?
A creative retreat is about stepping away from our busy lives and immersing ourselves in new surroundings and experiences that stimulate creativity to support the creative process and well-being.
Why Go on a Creative Retreat?
Have you fallen into a boring or repetitive routine? Is your inspiration fleeting? Are distractions keeping you from finishing a creative project? It might be time to change your surroundings and go on a creative retreat.
There are many creative and health benefits of travel to aid in the creative process. By understanding these elements and planning your creative work around them, not only can you achieve your creative dreams but also improve your creative life.
Seven Reasons You Should Go On a Creative Retreat:
- Lack of focus or too many distractions
- Your routine has become too repetitive
- You’re doubting your creative confidence
- Lack of motivation or inspiration
- Creative blocks
- Needing to learn something
- Need a community for support or feedback
BENEFITS OF A CREATIVE RETREAT
In addition to the scientific aspects mentioned above, there are several other ways you will benefit from a creative retreat. Once you learn how to plan a creative retreat, the benefits will continue to grow.
- Changing surroundings can boost creativity and productivity.
- The act of getting away can help remove distractions and excuses.
- Besides time to focus on your craft, creative retreats can be transformative and improve well-being.
- You can train creative skills and build habits to bring home.
- You can learn new things, like these 9 creative lessons from Japanese culture.
- Attending a group retreat can help create a community of support, accountability, and feedback for growth.
Table of Contents
Travel Inspiration
What Destinations, Activities, and Cultures Inspire You and Fuel Your Curiosity?
Before you even start to plan a creative retreat, you should cultivate a creative travel mindset by being open to the world and all it has to offer.
Spark your curiosity and seek out inspiration in the form of travel. What destinations in a movie, book, piece of art, or other sources of inspiration make you want to visit or learn more? What activities, creative minds, and stories inspire you to move and get out of your comfort zone?
By opening yourself to the world and following your curiosity, you begin the process of planning a creative retreat that can inspire and unlock new dimensions of your creativity and self-discovery.
This act alone can support your creativity and strengthen your mind in unique and exciting ways. Multiple studies have found that people planning future trips experience improved well-being as well as other cognitive benefits that support creative thinking in the anticipation and visualization of the trip.
Tips
- Create Travel Pinterest Boards for destinations, activities, wanderlust photos, and more.
- Watch travel shows, documentaries, movies, and Vlogs.
- Read inspiring travel books from famous creative minds and beyond.
- Talk with friends, family, coworkers, and strangers about their travels and unique experiences.
- Make creative travel bucket lists of destinations, activities, foods, and other travel-related items.
- Best Creative Travel Videos To Spark Wanderlust
- Movies to Inspire Creative Travel
- Books to Inspire Creative Travel
- Best Creative Travel Videos To Spark Wanderlust
- Coffee Shops and Cafes That Inspired Creative Minds
Set Travel Goals
What Do You Want to Achieve by Going on a Creative Retreat?
As mentioned in the types of creative retreats, the first thing you want to consider when it comes to creative retreats is your goals. What do you want to come back with? Before you start planning your retreat, set your goals and intentions, and choose which type of retreat best fits your goals.
Types of Creative Retreats
When planning a creative retreat, the first thing you need to decide is what kind of retreat you want to go on. What are your creative goals? What do you want to come back with? When it comes to creative retreats, it’s practically limitless what you can do and how personalized you can make the experience for the best results.
- Project-Based
- Research
- Networking
- Creative Wellness
- Educational / Skill Building
Tips
- Learn How to Set Creative Travel Goals using the S.M.A.R.T Goals Technique.
- Create an action plan – Break down goals into the smallest tasks to move you forward.
- Frame your activities and trip around your goal – Ask how does this support me in achieving my creative retreat goals?
- Track your progress and stay motivated with journaling.
- Reward yourself when you accomplish milestones and the final goal with something fun and motivating.
- Use meditation and visualization to see and feel what it’s like to achieve your goals.
- Share your goals and success with others.
- Be compassionate if you fail to reach your goals.
- Bruce lee says, “A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at.”
- If you fail, reevaluate, learn, and grow.
- Questions to ask yourself:
- Why do you want to go on a creative retreat?
- What are your goals for the retreat?
- Who will be going on this retreat?
- What destination would best support your creative goals?
- What travel activities would best support your creative goals?
Choose a Destination
Pick a Destination That Embodies Your Creative Goals and Inspiration
Once you have a creative travel goal and know the type of retreat that best supports it, you can begin considering where to go.
Returning to the science of creativity, you will want to make sure your surroundings are beneficial to the elements that boost creativity and well-being. The rule to keep in mind is to surround yourself with new senses that can reshape neural networks and plasticity to make new connections and enter states of flow.
How to Pick a Destination for Your Creative Retreat
- Supports Your Retreat Goals and Type of Retreat
- Shares Elements With Your Creativity
- Resources Needed for Your Creativity
- How Much Time You Need/Have
- Has Activities, Sites, and Events That You’re Interested In
- Fits your Budget
Now it’s important to find a destination that fits your budget. However, that can be limiting if you start with that constraint, but the option is up to you what to do first.
Personally, I find it best to start with a destination. This is because when you move to budget after you know where you want to go, you can sometimes apply creativity to make the destination work in your budget.
- For Example: Maybe the destination is out of your price range, but it sparks you to find ways to go where you can also get paid to go.
Tips
- Creative Ways to Choose a Destination:
- Let your partner, friend, child, or someone else recommend or pick for you.
- Leave it to chance by rolling dice for it, throwing a dart at a map, Earth Roulette, etc.
- Read biographies and travel books from famous creative minds for destination ideas.
- Watch creative travel movies and tv shows for inspiration.
- Explore places in VR for ideas.
- Create a bucket list to choose destinations.
- Find Creative Places to Stay
- Establish your travel priorities to compare destinations with.
- Look at travel trends in the news, social media, etc.
- Avoid crowds by picking destinations off-season.
Create a Budget
Establish a Budget That Covers the Costs of the Trip and Creative Needs
The key to budgeting for a creative retreat is planning and preparing for it in advance. The more time you have to budget and save, the easier it will be to enjoy your trip and find the best deals. Of course, it also depends on the type of creative traveler you are and what you want to experience.
Are you a minimal traveler, or do you like to be pampered? Are you trying to stay focused on your creative work, or do you want to experience the destination for wellness or research? Let these questions guide your budgeting, and also consider challenging yourself to not only save money but also experience new things to spark creative thinking.
Tips
- Challenge yourself to find creative ways to save money.
- Track and books flight when they’re at their cheapest price.
- Get a travel rewards card.
- Find creative ways to make money while traveling.
- Travel out of season for cheaper prices.
- Embrace public transport and walking.
- Pack well and pack light to save money on baggage.
- Plan free and DIY excursions to fuel adventure and save money.
- Get recommendations from locals.
- Travel off the beaten path (i.e., small towns)
- Avoid tours and other tourist traps.
Travel Research
Immerse Yourself in the Destination to Find Things to Do, See, Eat, and More That Support Your Creativity
Now the fun really begins. This part of planning a creative retreat carries the most benefits in the preparation stage as it sparks creative thinking, visualization, curiosity, and more. Dive deep into the research to not only create a creative retreat that benefits you the most but also supports your creativity right now.
Keep your creative goal nearby and repeat it in your mind like an affirmation as you explore things to do, see, eat, and more. Frame your choices based on the type of retreat you’re planning.
Things to Do
- Seek out activities that support different creative elements:
- Curiosity
- Openness
- Play
- Autonomy
- Awe
- Mindfulness
- Flow
- Utility
- Motivation
- Imagination
- Consider activities, sites, and events that support your creative passion and goal.
- Consider unique experiences you’ve never done before that will support cognitive flexibility (better creative thinking).
Tips
- Paint broad strokes. Save information that captures your curiosity to refine later when you begin to create an itinerary.
- Leave room to be spontaneous
Travel Bookings
Decide When to Go and Set up Your Transportation, Places to Stay, and Other Early Bookings
As the retreat begins to form and you have set a date, get the essentials out of the way. Finalize your trip by purchasing your flight, accommodations, and any other early booking you need to make, like visas, vaccinations, etc.
When planning these essentials, consider creative elements and what best supports your creative goal and process.
Getting There
Depending on where you go, there will be several ways to get there. To support your creativity, consider unique ways of getting around, or add constraints that challenge your creativity, such as more sustainable solutions to getting around.
Where to Stay
Just like creating a creative workspace is important, perhaps the most important part of planning a creative retreat is where you stay. Be sure you find a place that not only fits your budget but also your creative needs.
Questions to Help You Pick a Creative Place to Stay:
- How is the location?
- Does it have a creative workspace?
- Are there unique elements?
- Does it have self-care and wellness elements?
- Does it have good views for breaks from working?
Tips
- Consider unique and creative Airbnb’s to stay at for better privacy and unique experiences.
- Practice slow travel to enjoy your trip better and experience more creative benefits.
- Use tools to understand travel trends and get the best practices.
- Set up price alerts.
- Consider travel insurance if you want to be extra prepared or have reasons you might need to cancel, i.e. medical conditions.
- Research different types of travel insurance to fit your needs.
Make Your Itinerary
Sub Heading
A travel itinerary is an outline of what you plan to do, see, eat, etc., while on your trip and creative retreat. This can help you through the entire planning process to organize, budget, and visualize your trip to make it less stressful and more exciting.
At this point, you have a bucket list of things to do and see, and now you can start crafting and refining your trip to get the most out of it. A great way to make a travel itinerary to help you plan before the trip and stay organized during the trip is with Trello.
Organize Your Planning With Trello
The key to planning a creative retreat is like starting any creative project. Organize your thoughts and break down the project into its smallest tasks until the bigger picture begins to form.
Download Creative Enso’s FREE Creative Travel Planner (Trello Template)
Tips
- Morning Work / Afternoon Adventures – One of the best ways to plan a creative retreat is to follow the model of other famous creative minds, work in the morning, and explore in the afternoon. More about this in the next section.
- Creative Planning – Consider unique twists on your activities and getting around. Try different modes of transportation, add variety, and be spontaneous.
- Learn How to Use Trello for Creativity
- Start and end your trip with a bang – Get your creative mind flowing with unique and inspiring experiences to guide the trip and bring home.
- Schedule time for rest – This is particularly important for project-based retreats. Creative retreats can give you a lot of time to work, but to avoid burnout and get the most out of your retreat, step away from work to support creative thinking and well-being.
Creative Routine
Learn How to Plan and Balance Your Creative Work With Adventures That Support and Inspire Creativity
How do you balance your creative work and lifestyle while at home?
Although you might be taking a creative retreat to help focus on your creative work, it’s still important to balance it with rest.
That’s why the second phase of the creative process involves stepping away from work. It’s also why study after study points to breaks being the best way to improve productivity, and what better break is there than travel?
How you plan your schedule for a creative retreat depends on the type of retreat, your most creative time of day, and your travel goals.
However, one of the best and most popular creative retreat schedules that famous creative minds throughout history practice is: work in the morning and adventures in the afternoon.
Many famous creative minds even practice this type of schedule in their daily life when not traveling because of the creative benefits.
How to Schedule Your Days on A Creative Retreat
- Plan your day the night before.
- Set 3 MITs (Most Important Tasks).
- Create a positive wake-up routine (meditation, journaling, tea, etc.).
- Start with the most difficult tasks and move to smaller ones.
- Consider productivity strategies like Pomodoro, Eisenhower matrix, 52-17 Rule, and other techniques.
- Leave space to be flexible and mix things up.
- End your work by clearing your creative space to clear your mind.
Do's
- Take Regular Breaks
- Reward and track progress
- Prioritize rest and good sleep habits
- Unplug and turn off notifications
- Prioritize your tasks
Don'ts
- Don’t over plan
- Don’t eat junk food or over imbibe in substances
- Don’t be hard on yourself
- Don’t give up
Tips
- Plan your breaks and travel fun, but bring a notebook for ideas.
- If it’s in your means, embrace slow travel to fit more creative work and fun into your creative retreat.
- Use creative apps to support productivity while traveling.
- Protect your creative time – Set boundaries with technology and people during your creative time.
- Try to keep as much of your work digital and minimal to support a clean travel space, sustainability, and light luggage.
- Review your work at the end of the day to improve your schedule and find what works best for you.
Travel Packing
Pack Light, Pack Creative, and Pack Prepared for Your Creative Retreat
Packing for a creative retreat can be tricky. You want to have everything you need to be as creative as possible but also pack light to make getting around easy and stress-free.
What to Consider When Packing for a Creative Retreat
- Essentials: Length, Itinerary, Weather, Weight Limits, Etc.
- Creative Work: Focus On One Project, Keep It Digital (If You Can)
- Organization: Packing Cubes, Keep Documents Together, Make Lists and Revise
Do you pack the night before a trip? Stop and make your packing more creative and useful by planning early. Planning a bit earlier can you help you build better packing habits and allows you to add some creative skills like problem-solving, visualization, and creative thinking.
Creative Packing
- Learn/try new packing techniques, from Marie Kondo’s folding to packing cubes.
- Pack what you think you need, then edit like a cutthroat writer.
- Consider the 1-2-3-4-5-6 Rule (2 Weeks travel)– pack one hat, two pairs of shoes, three bottoms, four tops (short or long-sleeve or outer layer), five pairs of socks, and six pairs of underwear.
- Maximize your outfits with diverse multi-purpose clothing.
- Research packing hacks like the pillow hack to spark packing in new and unique ways.
- Not a digital creative? Reduce your set to the bare essentials and consider what you can buy at your destination and ship or carry back your finished work.
Tips
- Make a list (Trello is useful) and save it for future trips to improve your retreats.
- Try to pack wrinkle-proof outfits.
- Save space by buying toiletries when you get there.
- Do laundry on your trip to reduce the amount of clothing you bring.
- Lay things out first and keep your itinerary nearby to visualize outfits on your trip.
- Leave extra space in luggage to bring back souvenirs.
- Find your own formula to make your packing, suitcase, and carry-on an expression of yourself that brings joy and excitement.
- Pack a portable charger, a small travel journal/sketchbook, and other tools to be creative on the go.
- Research the latest packing hacks to support creative thinking and better travel.
- Pair your packing with healthy habits and goals you want to achieve on your creative retreat.
Travel Tools
Support Creative Travel and Your Mind With the Best Tools, Apps, and Gadgets for a Creative Retreat
Frequent creative travelers are always looking for the best deals and ways to boost creativity and improve travel experiences to relieve any stress. But how do you pick and find the right tools for creative retreats and travel?
How to Pick the Right Tools for Creative Travel Retreats
- Pick tools that optimize, simplify, and support stress-free travel
- Pick tools that solve a problem
- Pick tools that feature unique and creative elements that can support creative thinking
Most Essential Tools for a Creative Retreat
- Journal
- Camera
- Day Backpack
- Smartphone
- Art Tools Travel Organizer
Tips
- Plan out your Creative Retreat Tools Early and then reduce.
- Questions to ask when picking tools for a creative retreat:
- Does this support my creativity daily?
- Will this be a distraction?
- Can I reduce this in some way? (i.e., digital)
Travel Tips
Final Thoughts and Travel Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Creative Retreat
No trip or creative retreat goes exactly as planned, and no one is born a skillful traveler. Just like the creative process, it takes time and refinement. To help you get the most out of your creative retreat and cultivate a creative travel mindset, here are some final thoughts and travel tips to guide you on your journey to becoming a savvy and successful creative traveler.
Creative Travel Mindset
- Embrace challenges as learning opportunities
- Go with the flow
- Practice openness
- Embrace the unknown
Creative Self-Care
If planning a retreat makes you anxious, that is normal. The science behind creative retreats is about being vulnerable to change and new surroundings. The brain protects us from the unknown, this helped us in the past with survival, but now it can stop us from opening up to new opportunities and creativity. This is why it’s so important to consider self-care and well-being as crucial aspects of any creative retreat.
Tips
- Before You Travel:
- Find inspiration from books, movies, VR, and more.
- Can’t travel? Learn Creative Ways to Feel Like You’re on Vacation at Home
- In-flight Creativity:
- Plan a project or creative challenge to pass the time
- Learn something to prepare for the trip (i.e., language, podcasts, books, etc.)
- Travel Journal Tips:
- Travel journal prompts
- Journal at the same time every day
- After Travel Tips:
- Turn your travel memories into art (i.e., Scrapbooking)
- Creative Habits for Travel:
- Staying Healthy While Traveling:
Zach is an international writer, photographer, filmmaker, martial artist, and creator of Creative Enso, the Zen art of creative living. His goal is to empower and inspire creatives to live healthier, happier, and more creative lifestyles.
