7 Steps To Improve Creativity At Work For Better Performance And Results
No field of life can develop and grow without creative ideas. Creativity is necessary in all professions, in all relationships, in all life situations. The more creative and prone to creative thinking and problem-slowing a person is, the more successful and productive he is professionally and the richer his life experience is.
Although we might associate creativity with certain cultural activities like painting, dancing, singing or other performing arts or artistic jobs like graphic design or performing arts. Creativity at work can be very practical as most of us can benefit from adding creativity to our work life.
Creativity-boosting exercises are beneficial as they help to discover new ideas and improve overall productivity, so it’s important to learn about the different activities you can use to develop your performance at work. We have provided you with 7 simple steps to do that:
1. Read and create stories
Usually, at the age of five to seven our imagination, experience and skills help to express ourselves creatively. However, we have to keep fostering these skills also in our adult lives, it is beneficial to encourage fantasy by reading books, articles and poems. Creativity is also developed by creating stories – make up a story about something you would like to experience, see, travel or about some interesting event in your life that has already happened.
Reading is an activity that makes the reader to maintain focus and get over the distractions. The focus is an essential tool for people working in the creative field no matter the specialty – writers, creators, designers, marketing specialists, etc. Improved focus and concentration are some of the many benefits that come from reading books which help you to be creative.
It has been proven that reading can help to enhance your imagination as reading stimulates the right side of the brain, imagination then leads to creativity and innovative thinking. Reading can help your brain to develop new concepts, creative solutions and see more possibilities.
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2. Improvise
Improvisation is a very valuable tool in the development of creativity and creative habits. Encourage yourself to look at things differently, not from the traditional point of view! For example, encourage yourself or your colleagues to think of all the ways you can resolve a possible work problem or finish a complicated project with different methods you have used before. A change of perspective can make all the difference.
You can practice improvisation off-work as well with your family while going for a walk, where you can see so many unusual things in the outdoor environment. Even the sky can serve as an inspiration – look at the clouds and tell what one of the clouds resembles. Improvisation is easy and comes naturally when you let your creativity take the lead.
3. Enjoy the process
Creativity develops simultaneously with the skill to act and do something. You have to challenge yourself creatively even if you don`t feel like it. When you rob yourself of new creative expressions – your creative talent will not be developed. Avoid criticizing or judging your first creative attempts whether at work or in the arts class. Therefore, when you work with developing creative tools for your expression, put the emphasis not on the end result, but on the process itself, so that you can see and experience how fun and interesting it is to try or create something new.
Let yourself try to do the things you have always wanted! Try until you achieve what you want. Learn to enjoy the process – because when you truly enjoy the process of creating, you have more motivation to reach your goals even when you have just started. Because when you are passionate about something, you have to do it no matter the outcome, this commitment will guarantee success in the long run.
4. Draw something every day
Drawing develops thinking and creative abilities, it improves motor skills, develops patience, determination, and helps to express your individuality, and promotes all-around advancement. You can use any tools, any colors, any form of drawing, whether manually on paper or digitally – using your IT skills or even AI services. Although, it is most recommended for your artistic expressions to work with gouache paint, colored pencils, or other tools that could be more simple and practical in the beginning. You make the rules, you set the tone and feel free to color outside the lines.
There are no restrictions – you can work with brushes of different sizes, including your fingers! In the end, praise yourself for what you have created. Developing creativity is a regular exercise, so draw every day and express yourself in colors.
5. Play games
Fantasy and creativity can be stimulated by playing games: board games, card games, team-building games, video games – there are plenty of games you can choose from. Creativity-boosting games and activities at the workplace are like secret team-building tools disguised as fun activities for you and your colleagues. Games in workplace can enhance communication, productivity and problem-solving skills. Your team will be able to improve the ability to cooperate, communicate, listen and create new ideas in the process.
Games can add a bit of playfulness into the everyday hustle and bustle, and ignite the spark of innovation within teams or individually. When you and your coworkers come together during creativity workshops, games, or training sessions, you have the potential to create a unique value for the company and for yourself while participating in a process that unleashes imagination and unlocks new forms of productivity and fresh ideas.
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6. Find the joy of movement
Creativity is also developed by music, movements, releasing emotions and physical activities that you enjoy. Remember that we also think with our bodies, not only with our minds. In childhood, we learned a lot through movement, because children don’t have to act stiff like adults, they move around freely. When we tell a child: “Behave politely!” Don’t run! Don’t yell!”, we don’t teach them to control themselves, but we curb the desire to act and express themselves.
So we have to resist the societal norm and learned behavior, and be more flexible in our bodies and minds, by moving. Go for a walk, stretch, do some yoga even on the office chair if you must. Dedicate time every day to your favorite movements – exercise, dance, hike or anything else that you like.
7.Try innovative thinking
Whether during a short talk meeting with your colleague in the hallway or when sharing some views over lunch, employees are already sharing opinions and providing resources on how to make their tasks more efficient. If your company is not using such feedback in actionable steps that create change in the workplace, they are missing out on an opportunity to improve workplace productivity.
Interactions between employees about improvements and potential innovations are often the basis for creativity and productivity that can guide the company to success in the future. By gathering and using these ideas of innovation, companies can increase motivation, problem-solving, and overall productivity. Companies should be actively engaging with their staff, encouraging feedback, establishing surveys, and asking for insight into improving certain aspects of the business.
To sum up
Creative activities expand our field of vision, develop self-confidence and intelligence as well as productivity by enhancing our work and life skills. Work-related creativity should be more appreciated and cultivated as it can lead to greater benefits, better performance, and business growth. In this article, we have explained 7 simple but useful creativity promoting exercises.
Creativity and creative thinking are a prerequisite for promoting the emergence of various innovations, which in turn contribute to business development, profit growth, and better work results. Such skills allow a person to always see the best resolutions for problems, find a non-standard solution and transform the existing problem into a new, unique, positive result or a profitable product. And it is precisely these skills that ensure that company stays ahead of the competition.
There are many advantages to expressing your creativity using these approaches we have described the benefits of these steps and hope you can implement them at your workplace too either on your own individually or together with your team. Smart, successful, and motivated employees are constantly looking for ways to expand their skill set and knowledge base for further career advancement. Creativity is such a skill that will get you further in life and in work. Use it wisely.
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