Creativity is the ability to produce new, unique, and useful
ideas, solutions, or acts of expression. It is not purely about novel concepts,
but also about breaking through predictable patterns of thinking, forming
unique pairings of ideas, and bringing a concept from thought to action.
Here’s how you can be more creative throughout the day:
1.
Reframe Problems as Opportunities
• Instead of thinking of problems as
barriers, ask yourself: “What is another way I could tackle this?”
• Example: Perhaps you note that a process
is too slow. Instead of thinking “It’s slow.” consider brainstorming on ways to
speed it up in a way you’ve never tried.
2.
Combine
Unconnected Ideas
• Look to combine ideas and concepts from
differing fields (e.g., attaching gamification to a sales process) or
hybridization.
• Example: A receptionist may think about
how she could turn filing and organizing files into a “treasure hunt” instead
of a boring admin task.
3.
Think of
Everything As A "What If?"
• Think of some uncomfortable questions: o
What if we did the reverse? o What if we had a budget or time constraints?
• Example: A marketer, approached with a
bolder idea for a campaign, may run it to see how it performs or to see how
little engagement it receives.
4.
Steal Like An Artist (In An Ethical Manner!) •
There is nothing wrong with “stealing” the best ideas from other industries,
companies or even nature itself! Think about the best ideas or concepts from
somewhere else and think about how you can make them yours; into your scope of
work. • Example: A teacher incorporating look-style short videos into
“training” sessions, or a high school sports coach using TikTok videos during a
debrief.
5.
Prototype & Experiment Fast • Experiment
with small, easily to test, low-risk ideas in a matter of minutes, versus
waiting to build a complete finished product. • Example: As a software
developer, you write up a quick mock-up before coding one full implementation
of a feature.
6.
Change Your Environment • Be willing to try to
work from a new location (i.e., a café, a park, a different office space). •
Example: A Financial Analyst uses a whiteboard to sketch some ideas they have
rather than relying on Excel, giving them differently thought insights using a
new location.
7.
Collaborate with Those Outside Your Team • Talk
to people outside of your sector. They may have fresh perspectives and will
allow for new ideas to be formulated. For instance, • Example: An HR Manager
asks Engineers how can staff develop training that is more interactive.
8.
Automate
Routine Work, and Be Human for Creative Work • Use the AI capabilities of tools
for repetitive work to free up your thinking space to think bigger. • Example:
A salesperson can automate routine follow-up emails in a matter of minutes, to
spend their time crafting an undertaking that may drive incremental for
uniqueness.
9.
Maintain an "Idea Dump" Journal •
Begin writing down random thoughts. Even if you feel they are ridiculous -
-some of your wildest thoughts could potentially lead to important
advancements. Really, you never will know until you write them and contemplate
them down the line.
10. Welcome
Constraints! • Recognize your limitations (time, budget) for learning! Embrace
your constraints in the sense they may allow you to be creative. Ask yourself:
"What can I get done smarter within institutional or business
constraints?" Pro Tip: The "Creativity Alarm" Set your
"creativity alarm" to whatever interval you wish (every day/ every
week) asking yourself /developing a quick position to answer: • "What’s
one tiny thing I can do differently today?" • "Who solves this kind
of issue in a field other than my own?"
In this section, I'll outline a simple, step-by-step
method to release your creativity in every area of your life.
1.
Rewire the Way You Think About Creativity •
Recognize that creativity is a skill (and not only "talent") – you
can grow that skill with practice. • Use a "beginner's mind": Vary
your approach with open-mindedness and curiosity, rather than use expert
solutions or assumptions. • Override internal self-censorship: Your best ideas
will likely sound weird or "bad"- let those emerge first, and edit
for "good" later.
2.
Feed Your Brain (Developing Inputs for
Creativity) • Consume a huge diversity of material: Watch documentaries about
ballet, read a sci-fi novel, take a scientific approach to studying nature. •
Steal from creative geniuses (partly) ethically: Create a file on a central
location (i.e., online or paper) collecting your ideas in one place (could be
notes, images, quotes). • Use cross training: Explore other hobbies in
contradicting efforts to allow your mind to adjust the way it creates (example:
learning to make pottery, if you are a programmer).
Exercise: Spend 15 minutes each day
learning about a totally random topic by looking up a random Wikipedia page and
enjoying the unintended consequences of the path.
3.
Train Your Creative Muscles (Create ongoing
practices) • Morning pages: Every day write 3 pages of whatever you are
thinking about (no editing allowed). • The "30 Circles" test: draw 30
circles on a sheet of paper, and with 3 minutes, you must turn each of those
circles into something unique. • Analogies: Take a work challenge and compare
it to something unrelated (example: "this project is like a microwave -
how?").
4.
collaborate & Get Feedback
• Brainstorm with people that are not
domain experts in the area - they will ask naive questions that will open up
thoughts to yourself.
• Hold "worst idea" parties -
sometimes the worst ideas can bounce you into the best ideas.
• Surround yourself with "yes,
and..." people that add to your ideas, instead of shutting them down. Ship
Your Work (Push through perfectionism)
• It is better to be done than perfect:
Show drafts, prototypes and junk sketches to people earlier in the process
(people can be rationale and offer suggestions).
• "Kill your darlings": let go of
general works and approaches - just because you liked the idea before doesn't
mean it works towards the goal now.
• Celebrate small wins: you finished a
rough sketch? you posted a blog? Give yourself a reward for completing an
effort.
Barriers for your creativity
v
Fear of failure
v
Overthinking everything (there are limits, and
we don't have to push to theories)
v
Too much criticism (self-doubt or res
negativism)
v
Too formal, or rigid routines which offer no
spontaneity or creativity.
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