Creativity is something people accentuate a lot these days. Creativity has created its own space & importance in this uncertain world. It is all about coming up with fresh ideas and trying out new things to provide a panacea to the potential problems that may arise. Since the culture in which we live & the society around us don’t always encourage us to be creative, it does not come naturally to us & so haven’t thought this as one of the crucial attributes in progressing in our careers. Corporates do emphasize innovation, but it can only take shape once employees extract their creative juices in everything they do. It is about challenging the set ways of working & doing things differently. Creativity should be embedded in our daily lifestyle to keep ourselves excited & enthusiastic from carrying out our mundane tasks. Here are a few ways to kick-start our journey on creativity:

Break from a daily routine: People achieving monumental success in their life have one thing in common: they take a break from their daily tasks & reflect upon the ways they can bring out the change they envisage. They reserve a dedicated time from their routine to do so. Designing the routine in such a way to stack up the time-slots for multiple projects/tasks alternatively, rather than allocating the entire day for a single project/task, allows you to have a fresh perspective each time when we come back on that project. This refreshes your mind breaking out from the monotonous routine and helps generate new ideas.

Exposing to the latest trends: You need to keep yourself upbeat with the latest trends & positive news surrounding us. The latest happenings in the field you are in can act as a source of newer perspectives & thoughts for you only to extrapolate them further. You can read quality content from journals, magazines, books, or various daily news apps to keep you abreast with the latest news around. You can join various communities & events where groups of similar interests come together and share new ideas, which you might not have thought of before.

Move physically: Physical exercises can pump your blood extracting those creative juices required to think through the tasks. Taking a stroll through fresh air within the woods can inspire and make you creative. Regular exercises can create a positive impact on your mental health, which can bring clarity going through all the worries & anxieties. It induces good sleep, alleviates stress, improves memory & thus keeps your mind sharp & active at all times.

Engaging in your hobbies: Immersing yourself in doing something you have fallen in love with, can keep you cheerful. It is another way of keeping your mind focused and immune to all the irrelevant and negative thoughts. You would never want to bog yourself down in your work activities only. Hobbies can relieve you from daily work pressures and put you in good stead to think differently. Investing yourself in your hobbies daily can rejuvenate your cluttered mind and make way for creativeness.

Maintain your creative list: Creative ideas can strike you anywhere, anytime. Hence immediately log them so that it is not lost in thin air. You can record your ideas either in a note kept handy or on your cellphone device, only to ensure not to miss any of the amazing ideas you would have thought of from any experience you have had or from any observation you have made. There are times in a day when your mind is at your peak and generates innovative ideas, which should be logged instantly & can be worked upon later.

Surrounding yourselves with creative people: You can only have continuous learning by ensuring that people with whom you talk, laugh & share daily space are motivated enough to bounce your ideas around. You can learn their views & perspectives & share different ideas to create an innovative environment to dwell in. These people will help you flex your creative muscle and act as a resounding board for you to think creatively.

Keep Moving: Once you chart out your creative thoughts, the most important thing is to start working on them. Keep going with your idea and start building on it. The more you expand your initial thought-upon idea, the more different ways or approaches you can extract out of it. This could be the genesis of an innovative product. Most people list their ideas & then give up only to find someone else to implement it. Even if your idea doesn’t seem perfect in the initial stages, you still need to keep experimenting with it until you create something valuable out of it. And even if it doesn’t work out, you will still learn a few valuable lessons out of it. Remember, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb after 1000 unsuccessful attempts.

In this world, where problem-solving skills are considered as one of the finest skills a professional is expected to possess, creative skills become the catalyst in honing them. In this uncertain world, innovators draw a lot of attention & hence it becomes imperative for professionals to be creative & break through the conventional way of working. Looking out for new ways to solve problems can also improve business efficiency and productivity. Creativity keeps you motivated & lifts your spirits to always look forward to something that keeps you engaged. The benefits realized by engaging yourself in this process of creativity far exceeds the potential fallout perceived due to failure.

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