How to Harness Your Creativity at Work
I love to talk about creativity, especially when it comes to creativity at work. I feel that creativity is an often-overlooked skill at work and people often underestimate their creativity. However, everyone is creative and should bring that skill to work. Creativity at work can lead to innovative ideas for problem-solving, programming, fundraising, and increased productivity. Developing your creative skills at work can be beneficial. Here are five tips to harness your creativity at work.
Follow Your Curiosity
The first tip to harness your creativity at work is to follow your curiosity. Let your curiosity lead you and follow that path. I took a workshop about creativity, which talked about Human-Centered Design, which got me curious, so I followed that path. I read books about it and listened to podcasts about it. I am even interested in taking workshops about it. Also, while I was taking my son to a park one day, I read on the park sign that the park was created using Universal Design Theory practices, which sparked an interest. I went home and looked up more about it. I have used both concepts of Human-Centered Design and Universal Design Theory in my work. Elizabeth Gilbert talks about the importance of following your curiosity in her book, “Big Magic.”
Allow Space for Creativity
The second tip to harness your creativity at work is to allow space for creativity. Give yourself time to ideate. Allow yourself to meditate on ideas. Set aside designated time to think up creative ideas, work on ideas, and research different topics. Give yourself time. But, also realize that ideas come at all different moments, so have a place to jot down ideas that come to you throughout your day. Collect articles on topics you like and put them together in a binder. I have a binder full of articles about creativity. Allow space for creativity in your day, on your calendar, and in meetings.
Play - It’s not Just for Children
The third tip to harness your creativity at work is to play. Play is not just for children. Play is important for honing your creative skills. Play creative improvisation games. One fun game is to take an object and see how many different ways you can use that object. For example, let’s look at a tissue box. What can a tissue box be used for? You can also play with juxtaposition, putting two different things together, and thinking of different ways they can work together. Let's say you are thinking of creative ideas for a fundraiser event. Write down different places in your town on separate pieces of paper and put those pieces in one bag. Then write down things people enjoy doing on separate pieces of paper and put them in another bag. Pull one piece of paper from each bag, and see if you can come up with fun combinations and ideas for an innovative fundraiser event.
Let Limitations Inspire You
The fourth tip is to set boundaries or limitations. In those limitations, you can often think of creative outside-the-box ideas. Limitations can be time limitations, supply limitations, resource limitations, and/or budget limitations. Set limitations while you are working on different projects. For example, if you are thinking of creating a new program and you only have three volunteers, 100 dollars, and three donated sewing machines, what program can you come up with? It is surprising how limitations can spark your creativity.
Get Started
The fifth and final tip for harnessing your creativity at work is to get started. Artists often have the fear of the black canvas or the blank page. The best tip is to start. Use what is on hand to spark your creativity. Cut out words in a magazine or pictures to help you think of ideas. Use daily prompts to help you come up with creative ideas. Do a brain dump and write all your thoughts down for three minutes. Take a walk and get moving. The fun thing about being creative is that ideas lead to more ideas. There are always more ideas. So, brush off those creativity skills, and let’s get to work
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