Adding More Creativity at Work by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC
It’s very easy to get into a rut in many different areas of your life. It can be especially easy in your work life, particularly after you’ve been doing the same job for a while. Intentionally adding more creativity to your work can have several benefits, including helping you to be more productive, and helping you to see different ways of accomplishing the same task. It can even help make work more fun. It can be a challenge to add creativity when you’re stuck in the same old habits. Here are some tips to help you think a little more creatively about your job.
1. Get inspiration. See how someone else does it. Watching someone else perform the same job, or one that is similar can help you see tasks from a different perspective, potentially helping you find new ways of doing things. Even if it means going to another office or checking out your competition, you will find that you can almost always learn from how another person performs. A writer, for example, might counteract writer’s block by reading someone else’s work. Though he wouldn’t be looking to copy another’s ideas, those ideas might spark new ideas of his own.
2. Take a break. Sometimes taking a break from your most regular tasks can help you see them in a new light. Switching to something completely new, even for a few hours, can break the monotony and help you get back to your tasks with fresh eyes.
3. Work, backwards. Try shifting things around. This is easier for more creative jobs, such as artists, who can try new mediums to help with inspiration. However, many other professions can benefit from a “begin with the end in mind” mentality.
4. Ask for feedback. When another person looks objectively at what you’re doing, he can often see things that you miss, simply because you see the work so frequently. It’s a great idea to seek regular feedback from other people to help you grow.
The point of these exercises is simply to change your perspective on your work. When you are able to see your work from a different angle, it opens your mind to many new possibilities. These new possibilities can help fuel you forward to new avenues of creativity and new ways to make your job, and your product, better than ever.
