Daily Creative: Find Your Inspiration to Spark Creative Energy and Fight Burnout

by Todd Henry

From the bestselling author of The Accidental Creative and Die Empty comes an inspirational guide that helps spark creative energy―day in and day out. Even if you don't think of yourself as creative, you'd probably be surprised by how many creative tools you use every day. You solve problems, design, write, invent, or in other words―create. But the pressure we feel to continually create value with our minds can cause tremendous stress and eventually neutralize our ability to be effective in our roles long term. The Daily Creative is a daily reader for busy professionals, creative and otherwise, designed to help you gain focus for your day and advance toward your goals. Each daily reading
Combat burnout with this daily toolkit that can help you feel reenergized and ready for innovation!

Genres: Nonfiction, Productivity, Personal Development, Business

400 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2022

About the author

Todd Henry teaches leaders and organizations how to establish practices that lead to everyday brilliance. He is the author of seven books (The Accidental Creative, Die Empty, Louder Than Words, Herding Tigers, The Motivation Code, Daily Creative, The Brave Habit) which have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and he speaks and consults across dozens of industries on creativity, leadership, and passion for work.With more than fifteen million downloads, his podcast offers weekly tips for how to stay prolific, brilliant, and healthy.

Reviews

[Zeinab · Rating 3 out of 5]

معمولا کتاب‌های انگیزشی روی من اثر خاصی نمیذارن،
نمیخوام بگم این کتاب با بقیه کتاب‌های این دسته خیلی متفاوت بود، ولی اونقدرا تکرار مکررات هم نبود.
بهترین روش مطالعه‌ش اینه که روزی یک صفحه بخونی و دقیقا یک سال بعد تمومش کنی، چون دقیقا ۳۶۵ صفحه‌س و ۳۶۵ نکته هم داره.

برای من بیشتر از یک سال طول کشید، چون روزهایی بود که اصلا سراغش نمی‌رفتم.

بعضی نکاتش خیلی قابل تامل بود و هایلایت کردم تا گاهی ورقی بزنم و به خودم یادآوری‌شون کنم.

در کل کتابیه که ممکنه وقتایی که هیچی انرژی نداری،
از فشار کار و درس خسته و دلسرد شدی،
سراغش بری و کمی قوت قلب بگیری.
هرچند این قوت قلب زودگذر باشه،
ولی به هرحال مسکن خوبیه.

دیگه همین.

[Mana · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you solve problems every day, you’re creative, and with this inspirational guide, we don't have any excuses to unleash even more creativity. The author motivates us to prepare ourselves, to be brilliant when it matters most; to build daily practices that encourage us to grow, focus, and stay fresh and engaged with our life and work.

This book is designed to help us build a daily practice around our creativity. It covers everything from personal passion to idea generation to mindset to collaboration and leadership. Each entry is designed to cover and challenge one aspect of our life as creative professionals.

Daily practices prepare us for those occasional moments when we need to shine.

Just dive in and prepare to be surprised and discover something new about yourself!

A really useful book, it would be an amazing gift, too.

[Glo · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to the author, this is a book to taste bit by bit to get results in the long run. The goal is to develop a daily habit to reflect and work on a skill, a strategy and other tips that could make us more creative, diligent and focused.

It is structured in line with an annual calendar. In each chapter (day of the year) we can find a brief explanation of a specific subject, sometimes including a sort of motivational speech, a quote and/or a visual metaphor that sparks the neurons. Generally, I needed just a few minutes to read each. And every succinct ‘lesson’ is outlined in a concise sentence at the end, so it is easy to brush up every now and then. Finally, each statement wraps up with a powerful question directed to guide us in our routines.

Thank you to Todd Henry, SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction), Simple Truths and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Kelly Paradis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, there is SO very much amazing stuff in this book. While it's written as a daily exercise, I think you could attack it in any way that makes the most sense for you. Some questions might take a few days to get all the way through, while others you could complete in a few minutes. This one made me laugh: "Is there anyone you struggle to work with whose actions might be explained better by incompetence than by ill intent?" Because yes, yes there is.

I obviously haven't completed going through all of the daily exercises in detail yet, but what an amazing journey it will be to go through this. I can't wait!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction), Simple Truths and NetGalley for the opportunity to access the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Read in Space · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the concept of daily reading, it's like a short tip for everyday, perfect to read in the morning before start your creative work. It can be a good present choice for a creative friend/family.
Some tips are common but still good as a reminder, some are interesting to learn. In general, I would recommend it for young people who wants to do creative work in future.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I of course have both the Audiobook & Kindle versions
I love this guy's questions. Although some of them I've heard before, but there are tons I didn't hear. This book is intended to be read one section per day - Kind of impossible for me, because of the way I listen to books. I will try to answer the questions, for things that apply to me.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Todd’s books are in high rotation. I use his books with my students, my clients and employees. This one gives great insights that are highly actionable. Can’t recommend his entire library high enough.

[Diogo Vaille · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is undoubtedly one of the most invaluable practical guides I've come across. The author distills a lifetime of creative insights (365, to be precise) into this work. It's a read that demands your full attention, leaving no room for mere skimming.

[Ännä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daily Creative is a book of bite sized tips to read each day to inspire a creative practice. It falls well into its genre, and I like the emphasis on the many forms of creativity. If you're looking for something to read to spark fresh thoughts and ideas this book might be for you!

[Krissy Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend. This book is exceptional. Great prompts. Exactly what I needed to get unstuck. So inspired.

[Monsop Collado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Just for Creatives—A Book for Anyone Seeking to Grow

I found *Daily Creative* by Todd Henry to be an excellent and inspiring book. I didn’t follow the one‑section‑per‑day format that it’s structured around, but I spent short periods of time engaging with its ideas—and it was incredibly rewarding. Regardless of your creative preferences, this book provides a wide range of insights that can help anyone grow and improve.

Among the things I loved most about it:

Wide-ranging inspiration: The book touches on diverse themes—from managing creative energy to embracing growth through small daily actions. These concepts offered me fresh ways to think about creativity and productivity.

Practical, bite-sized structure: Even though I didn’t read it daily, the short, focused entries made it easy to dip in and out, while still finding something useful each time.

Flexible approach: Henry’s ideas are adaptable to different types of work and lifestyles. Whether you’re a professional creative or just seeking fresh motivation, there’s something here for you.

Encouraging and realistic tone: The book balances inspiration with practicality, helping you see creativity as a skill to be nurtured rather than an occasional spark of genius.

Here are a few quotes that particularly resonated with me:

“Everything is temporary. Things will change.”– A powerful reminder to stay adaptable and not get stuck in today’s challenges.
“We value excellence, not perfection”and “Chase excellence with your work, not perfection.” – These reframed how I think about progress and the value of consistent improvement.
“To access deep, creative thought, you must occasionally disconnect and experience stillness.” – This encouraged me to be intentional about unplugging and allowing space for reflection.
“The best way out of a creative rut is to learn a new skill.” – Simple but effective advice that pushes you to grow by exploring something new.

In summary, Daily Creative is more than just a book—it’s a practical companion for anyone looking to stay inspired and develop their creative muscles. Highly recommended for its actionable advice, motivating tone, and versatility.

[Abra Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books where I feel like its content strays a bit from the promise of its title - but I absolutely loved it anyway. The subtitle, "A Practical Guide for Staying Prolific, Brilliant, and Healthy," reflects more of what you're getting from Henry, but this book is more than a guide. Designed in daybook format, each date features a probing question set within the context of a challenge to be overcome. And the beauty here is - this is applicable to anyone and everyone. This isn't a traditional set of creative writing prompts or design thinking manual - it's both and so much more, but not prescriptive like a specific "write a story about..." creative guide. The title may dissuade those who believe the creative path must be arts-related in some way, but as Todd assures us in his intro, each of us is creative in our own ways and in our own environments - at work, home, or play. This is a book that will make you think about what you do on a daily basis with fresh eyes, to dig a little deeper into how, why, what if. And, it is a book that I will come back to time and time again for a tune up. It may be ordered by calendar dates, but you could flip to any page and have a meaningful, relevant experience with the content. At a time when societal creativity seems to be foundering in the dearth of critical thinking, this book is a spark we could all use.

I received a digital galley of this book in exchange for an honest review, and loved this one so much that I plan to purchase a hardcover for my permanent collection.

[Negar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you ever feel like your creative spark has gone out? Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, you’d be surprised at how many creative tools you use every day. Problem solving, designing, writing, inventing, or in other words, creating, are all activities that we do on a daily basis. But the constant pressure to create value with our minds can lead to severe stress and eventually reduce our effectiveness in our long-term roles.
The good news is that the book “Always Creative” by Todd Henry can be an inspiring guide for you. This book, written by the bestselling author of “The Accidental Creative” and “Die Empty,” offers a method for sparking creative energy on a daily basis.
https://www.30book.com/book/150563/%D...

[Louise Foerster · Rating 5 out of 5]

With DAILY CREATIVE, Todd Henry has once again provided a truly enjoyable, inspiring, and incredibly practical approach to the art, craft, and business of creativity. With this guide, Henry provides a monthly and daily perspective of areas to focus on, many of the ideas proving so doable and quick that I found myself grinning at the simplicity and genius of deepening and broadening our capabilities while having a marvelous time. I will refer to this guide often to spur the ideas, to encourage wild-eyed and wonderful new takes on what can be terrifying, mind-blowing, daily terror of facing the blank page or wide open time to do what comes to me to do. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

[Kim Pollack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daily Creative is a daily reader with an entry for every day of the year. Each entry begins with a short passage sure to inspire and encourage, and ends with a question for clarity, focus, reflection and as a source of intention setting and challenge.
Stephen Covey talked about "sharpening the saw" as one of his highly effective habits, and starting each day with this book would be an easy way to practice this habit. This book would make a wonderful gift for entrepreneurs, artists of all kinds, and small business owners.

[angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly can't believe I did it, but I stuck with it and read this book every (ish) for a year!! My office-mate and I set out on January 1, 2023 and decided to read and discuss this book over the course of the year. And we did it. Some days we had several days (or even weeks) to catch up on. But we finished the book, learned a lot, and had great conversations along the way. If you are a creative thinker or in a creative role, this book is a must-have. So many times throughout the year I turned to this book, and it was exactly what I needed to hear.

[Grace Tolman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a long time to read but I do appreciate that the content was chunked into daily pages. I really enjoyed learning more about how to be prolific in my creativity, both personal and professional. Some of the ideas kind of repeat itself, but there's some good gems in there too.
Over all I highly recommend this book for those that are any creative pursuits, or even those that would want to be more creative in their lives.

[A.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd Henry has been in my orbit? for many years. And I picked this up in a sale and then forgot about it, as I tend to do. I had not realised - even though it says it right on the damn cover - that this is one of those ‘read a section on each date’ kind of formats. Or in other words, DAILY. yeah, yeah I can see it now.

But luckily I got to it in February, so I only had to catch up one month.

I honestly think I may just start it again…

4 stars

[Kevin Demel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't read the book. It's just a book you can read one concept per day for a year.

[Pat Youther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, thought-provoking, challenging. I'll be re-reading it throughout 2024.

[Derek Ludwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. this was a daily reader where you read one page a day
2. it was good and I hope to read this again in the coming years

[Lauren]

Beneficial this year as a way to start each day. I often jotted notes to think about and dog-eared pages to refer back to. Looking forward to restarting in 2026 as a regular daily creative practice.