As an entrepreneur, one of the most important things you can do is learn how to unlock your creativity. An entrepreneur without creativity isn’t going to get very far. That’s a fact! You need the capacity to come up with great ideas and solutions, and creative ways of building and sustaining your business in the long haul. Being an entrepreneur shouldn’t be boring, but it will be without this valuable skill.
Here are a few ideas that will help you to boost your creativity and make you a better business person:
Embrace Your Eccentricity
Everybody has their own unique personality quirks. The way you get creative won’t be the same as they way somebody else does. Don’t try to be somebody else, or fit into somebody else’s parameters of ‘normal’. Embrace what makes you eccentric and go with it. Come up with your best ideas at night? Keep a notebook by your bed. Work better when you’re at the airport? Go there for the day. There’s a rumour that Steve Jobs used to sit with his feet in the toilet bowl because it helped him to think.
Have A Drink
You shouldn’t get slaughtered in the middle of the working day, however, having a drink and mulling over your business could help you to lower your inhibitions and come up with ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. Write down everything you come up with and come back to it the next day, and you might just find something you can use.
Change Your Lighting
A simple change of lighting could help you to boost your creativity and feel more ready to work. Turning lighting down a little can boost determination and creative thinking, so next time you’re sat under bright lights and trying to solve a problem or solution, dim them. See if you can come up with an idea any faster. Chances are, you’ll at least feel more relaxed in your environment.
Start Doodling
Doodling is not a wasted past time. In fact, studies have shown that doodling helps to unlock creativity, enhance recall, and light up neural networks that can help with breakthroughs. You don’t have to doodle anything that makes sense, just grab a pen and see what you come up with. After a few minutes, come back to your work and see if you come up with anything that can help you.
Take A Mental Break
Knowing when to stop working and take a break is a skill in itself. You shouldn’t work yourself to the point of burn out, as no great work ever came from this point. Let your mind drift away – daydreaming helps creative thinking, so gaze out of the window and have 10 minutes to yourself. You could even meditate, to help clear your mind and relax. Mental breaks are crucial, but how you take them is up to you as an individual. You might find that your mental breaks are best when playing the Final Fantasy XV mobile exclusive game in a different room, before going back to your office and completing the task at hand. This is where embracing your eccentricity comes back into it!
Keep A Journal Consistently
Try keeping a business/creativity journal and write down everything regarding your working day, your thoughts, and other relevant things in there. This might save you one day when trying to solve an idea.
Take Constructive Criticism On Board
Constructive criticism can be tough to take for some people, but if you can avoid taking it personally, you can see it as an opportunity to improve what you’re doing. See what your audience are saying about you and your service and how you can improve. Come up with creative ways to make your service even better and your customers even happier.
Set A List Of Big and Small Goals
Setting a list of goals can help you to stay focused on what’s important every day. Set both small and big goals, and make sure they are measurable and achievable. Don’t just keep them in your mind or on the computer, either. Write them out and put them somewhere you can see them every day. You might even want to have them in multiple places, so that they are always permeating your subconscious even when you don’t know it. You’re far more likely to reach your goals if you keep them in your mind!
Surround Yourself With Creative People More Often
Did you know that we become like the people we spend the most time with? If you spend the most time with your old friends, yet none of them are creative, you’re going to struggle. This doesn’t mean you should drop anybody that ever meant anything to you. Just that you should see if you can find like minded people and spend as much time with them as possible. If you want to be creative, spending time with creative people is the key to getting there faster.
Spend Time Away From The Computer Screen
Sometimes, you just need to spend some time away from the screen to come up with a great idea or solution. Staring at it can stress you out even more and give you a mental block. How about trying to brainstorm on a whiteboard instead? This could help you to think more clearly and come up with ideas that you wouldn’t have come up with when faced with the screen. Try it and see if it works for you.
Boosting your creativity as an entrepreneur isn’t something that is going to happen over night. You’re going to need to be consistent with your efforts, working on them regularly. Creativity is a muscle, just like any other muscle in your body. The more you work it, the stronger it will get. Practice being more creative using the ideas here everyday, and you should find yourself making huge improvements.
Do you have anything that works for you to add? Leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!
