As designers, our role is inherently creative but some days it can feel difficult to tap into our creativity – so this week we’re looking into proven methods of boosting your creativity and motivating your idea generation and productivity!
Creativity is often associated with the arts but actually is an integral part of successful business skills – creativity facilitates “thinking outside the box”, coming up with solutions and efficient ways of working. From problem-solving to communication and collaborative approaches to working, taking time to care for and encourage your creativity is key!
Our first piece of advice with regards to creativity – is to establish a failure tolerant culture, especially within the workplace. Creativity is not a one-size-fits-all concept and being creative means there needs to be space for trial and error. The practice of being creative is a journey and not a linear one, often what is created along the way is equally as important as the solution at the end. Allow for brain-storming and idea generation without focussing solely on the outcome – this way of thinking, over time, will allow for more depth and innovative thinking.
Flexibility is key. Take note of when you feel most motivated and creative – this is different for everyone. A great way to promote creativity is to act on it when it comes to you and this requires flexibility within your working schedule to do so. Providing space for great ideas to be explored is a great way to encourage creative thinking as a culture. Over time we’ve become used to a task-focussed environment in the office, where tick boxing to-do lists is equated to good productivity it’s important that we allow for time to think. In a time where AI really can get the task done quicker, creativity really is a super power and an unrivalled one.
One surefire way to get the creative juices flowing is by getting active! Exercise has been proven to combat fatigue, mental fog and improves cognitive processing. Another important way to be creative is to distract your mind from the task at hand and allow your brain to work creatively in the background – drawing, painting, playing games or even watching your favourite programme can be a great way to unplug and expand your creative capacity!
