Creativity is one of the fundamental traits or skills for the workforce of the 21st century. However, there is always a great debate if creativity can be learnt or whether you are born with it. I don’t want to go deeper here. Personally, I believe that is a combination of both. We have to differentiate if it is truly intuitive or if we use techniques to spark it. One thing is for sure, creativity declines as we are aging, for various reasons. So, to stay on top of the game, we must build habits to stay in the right mood to get the creativity going.

This is the best tip I can give. During the pandemic, there is even more research about the working place as suddenly we had to work from home and not in the office. Today we call it to work from everywhere.

A survey from EY indicated that 70% of Malaysians say that hybrid work increases productivity and creativity. EV Survey

Wow, this is an interesting point. Office workplaces have changed tremendously over the year. However, there is still not the best environment for creative work. Creativity needs inspiration! The job or task you have to do using your brilliant mind will determine your working environment. For example, I like to do accounting stuff in my room because it is silent, and I can focus on the numbers. On the other hand, I love having business discussions over a good cup of coffee in a nice shop. For ideation, I like to prefer a colourful and vibrant environment. And for some of you, the shower might also be an option. 😂

The bottom line is that you must test which environment suits you best to complete the task and enhance productivity and creativity.

We all know the statement: Dress to Impress!

Well, our brain can be influenced by its surroundings and beliefs. We see extraordinary achievements from human beings all over the globe. All have in common that they believe that they can do it.

Wearing different clothes and being in a different place will impact how we feel and get inspired. I experienced that by myself. If I want to start ideation, black leather shoes and a tie are not my best combination. I always feel that the tie is cutting off the oxygen to the brain. Even long shirts I personally don’t like, even though it is quite standard in the corporate world. I always fold up my sleeves to tell my brain, let’s get ready to work. That is the right mood for me.

You can try this too. Change your clothes to get the right mood, and the creative energy will flow. Just be a little bit careful in which environment you are in and what is the “norm” there. 😉

This might sound quite counterproductive. But, what has a structure with creativity to do? Isn’t that exactly the opposite? The answer is NO.

For all of us, daily life is busy. We must get up to work and rush through the jam in the morning. Our schedule is full of meetings and deadlines. And at home, we have to take care of our families. At the end of the day, we have little time to be creative. Therefore we have to create room to be creative.

We have to incorporate creative times for us. Now, this will take a bit of time and practice. Each of us is different. Some of you will find out that you be creative in the morning. Some after a few hours in the day or at lunchtime. Some of you are creative at night. It really depends. I believe also that is what happened during the pandemic. People worked according to their creative needs. That is how I would interpret that survey. It is not a 9-to-5 job and working style anymore.

I noticed I have 2 times when I can be super creative. One is in the morning. Once I wake up, I have my shower, and I drink a good coffee. That is really the time for me to come out with great ideas. The other time is before lunch. I always try to make room before lunch to let my brain go into this creative state. Usually, the afternoon and evening are not my preferred times to be creative.

Test it out and find the right time for you!  🕐

4. Get excited!

I love to challenge my brain to solve problems and get creative. I can be so excited that sometimes I don’t sleep. But, I can’t let go; my brain keeps thinking, playing and dancing with new ideas. It is fascinating.

Please don’t STOP if you are too excited. It is pure joy.

When I was younger, I often got upset if I couldn’t sleep. I told myself that tomorrow you have to work, and you must be ready and so on. Nowadays, I don’t do that anymore. If my brain gets excited at 3 am to solve the problem, I fully support it. Anyhow it controls me! 😂

Excitement about the tasks or challenges is really helpful for the brain to be creative. It means your mindset is very important to be creative. Not necessarily you must wake up at 3 am in the morning. You shall feel joy while you want to be creative.

Ignite the fire in you to be excited, and creativity will flow.

 

5. Use tools and techniques

As mentioned in the beginning, there is a debate if creativity is born into you or you can learn it. Self-motivation and getting excited, it part of your character and identity. This might be challenging to learn, as it comes from the inside and makes you creative.

Tools and techniques, however, can definitely support your creativity. For example, you might use a journal or diary to write your ideas and moments as a creative person. I have done this for many years. I have books full of ideas. It is very important to drop them down immediately; otherwise, they are gone.

Ideas are like butterflies – once you see them, they are gone

There are also many group or individual techniques. I love brainwriting or brainstorming. Just write everything down first. Another good way is bad ideas. This is fun for the brain as you tease yourself to write down first really bad ideas, and your brain gets very creative in that.

I will write a separate blog about creative techniques the next time.

Test out some creative techniques to get your brain in an exciting mood! ✍

Have a creative week ahead!