MANILA -- Having a hard time keeping creative juices flowing during the pandemic? Here are some tips from Kenneth Cobonpue.

Speaking at a recent webinar organized by Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corp., the world-renowned furniture designer compared creativity to sports, saying it is something that needs to be constantly worked on.

His first advice is to allot a specific time each day to think and let inspiration come before doing other daily tasks.

"Creativity is no different from any sport. It's no different from playing basketball, dancing, or getting really good at something. You have to keep on doing it and devoting certain time for it," he said.

"So I fix a few hours of trying to come up with something every day. Sometimes inspiration comes, sometimes it doesn't," he added, stressing that what is important is the consistent effort to devote time for creativity.

Cobonpue also stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between work and play as "staying happy" is key to igniting creativity.

"What I do is I try to read a book, go online and watch my favorite movie, try to make myself happy. Because if you're not happy, you cannot be creative. You can't be inspired. So that's really important, that your mindset is there," he explained. "You really need a good balance."

When asked about his biggest learnings during the pandemic, Cobonpue talked about the importance of family and time.

"When we're working we tend to take them (family) for granted. And now we are reconnecting, and repairing, and mending our relationships, and making them richer," he said.

The furniture designer went on: "In the house it seems the days are so short, the days fly by very fast. It's amazing because we always think that when we do nothing, the days are so long. But you always find that there's not enough time when you're not doing anything. It made me realize that time is so precious."