Enjoy variety. Read on a lot of different things. This way, when it comes time to put your knowledge and creativity to the test, you’ll be able to apply your knowledge cross-field and cross-discipline. Read imaginatively. Don’t just focus on scholarly monographs or instructional materials. Spend time reading fantasy, science fiction, or some sort of genre that will help expand your horizons about what is possible. Read about things you don’t know anything about. Make reading a habit. Avoid falling into the trap of forcing yourself to read one book a week or one book a month. Instead, find books and other reading materials that you enjoy and put them everywhere. Use spare moments and downtime to explore these worlds of knowledge.
Parties. Business meetings. Community events.
Watching television, specifically programs you watch all the time. Playing games or sports you’ve already mastered. If you’re a master chess or checkers player, and beat the computer or your friends every time, chances are that those games aren’t helping you grow. Consider different games or sports. Socializing with people who bore you or engaging in social activities that restrict your creative impulses. [1] X Research source
Art galleries, art fairs, or festivals. You’ll see many things you don’t normally come into contact with, and that might get you thinking about something new. Attend concerts, symphonies, or music festivals. Watch a play, an opera, go visit a museum. Attend a public lecture, talk, or a presentation.
Creativity isn’t something that you are born with or without. It’s a skill that can be developed and a muscle that needs to be flexed. Thus, failures are just part of the growing and strengthening process. [2] X Expert Source Joui TurandotBranding Consultant Expert Interview. 4 June 2020.
List your seemingly random ideas. Pick some of your most intriguing ideas, and write them on various places on a sheet of paper. Place them according to how you think they are connected. Draw lines connecting ideas. Draw spur lines of important ideas and connect them to lesser ideas. [3] X Research source
Part of this is accepting the position that there are often many ways to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Accept that there are many ways to view the world. Then you can see that there are many ways to be creative and solve problems. Understand that you don’t know everything, and every activity is a learning experience. Consider unpopular or even “weird” ways of viewing things or solving problems. These unconventional ideas or views might just give you a creative spark. [4] X Research source
Drawing. If you enjoy drawing, draw. It does not really matter if you think you’re good at it. Writing. If you enjoy writing, write. Actual writing (fiction or non-fiction) is the best way to hone and develop your thoughts and your creative impulse. Build. If you enjoy building things, whether it be abstract art or basic carpentry, you should build. This will stimulate your creative juices, and you might wind up building something really cool![5] X Research source If you have any inkling of creativity, whether that’s arranging your bedroom, cooking, or calligraphy, practice that too![6] X Expert Source Joui TurandotBranding Consultant Expert Interview. 4 June 2020.
If your goal is to build a fence, think about the purpose of building a fence. Then focus on what you hope to achieve by building a fence. If you’re trying to keep deer from eating your prize flowers, maybe consider other options like spraying your flowers with organic soap to deter the deer. If you’re trying to solve the problem of fuel efficiency in car, perhaps think about it as a transportation problem instead. Instead of just trying to build a more fuel efficiency engine, you can scale down the size of a car or even identify alternate modes of transportation for people. Don’t fear starting all over if you think a line of inquiry or something you’ve been working on has failed you. Just start over and re-conceptualize. [7] X Research source
Someone can be highly productive while not being creative at all. Creativity entails finding new ways to solve problems and making or creating things that are unique. Productivity entails producing something, but can often be done in a non-creative and workman-like way.
Spend a little time thinking before you start work. Take breaks throughout to think about what you’re doing. Whenever you meet an unexpected challenge, take a break to think about that challenge. Maybe you’ll consider a solution you hadn’t thought of before. [8] X Research source It’s fine if you don’t even know what you’re going to do during this carved out creative time. The important thing is to let yourself be, and to let the inspiration come when it will. [9] X Expert Source Joui TurandotBranding Consultant Expert Interview. 4 June 2020.
Put up images or posters that demonstrate the creative impulse. Create a non-orthodox working area, like putting a couch in your office. Move around while you work. Some people like to stand while they work at their desk. Others walk slowly on a treadmill while they read, write, or think. [11] X Research source [12] X Trustworthy Source Greater Good Magazine Journal published by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, which uses scientific research to promote happier living Go to source
Spend half an hour before bed thinking about things, if this works for you. Take a little time from your lunch to think about problems. Whenever you feel like your creative “juices” are flowing, stop whatever you’re doing (if you can), and work through those ideas.
Jeff Bezos said, “I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out. " Rules, constraints, and limitations force you to think creatively. So next time you’re blaming your manager or client for thinking too small, you should thank them.
