Creativity is a driving force for human development that has fascinated scholars for centuries. Very little is known about the cognitive underpinnings of thinking outside the box, however. We present an action-dynamics approach, in which we track the unfolding of hand movements while choosing between either a traditional or a creative use of a given object. Participants could freely decide between both options (Experiment 1, N = 51 adults) or were prompted to select a specific use (Experiment 2, N = 51 adults). Temporal as well as spatial measures of action unfolding revealed behavior to be strongly biased towards traditional options, even when choosing an available, more creative option eventually. Creative behavior thus comprises two obstacles, coming up with new ideas while simultaneously overcoming a lasting bias towards old ones.