“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.”
For those of you at home with kids right now, I’m sure you’re seeing a lot of creativity on the go and hearing a lot of ‘look what I drew!’ Rarely do young children ask, ‘is it good?’
This is how it should be when you’re first developing your brand and evolving your business.
People need to be allowed to voice their ideas without fear of being shot down because you never know how it will evolve or spark someone else’s imagination.
So how do you create space for creativity, especially in the current situation when everyone is working from home?
1. Sleep:
This is the #1 ingredient for creativity. No one can create effectively with brain fog. 8.5 hours is optimal for me, but everyone is different. Whatever works for you, do that, but be mindful of the practices that make you feel your most zesty and do more of those.
2. Clear the clutter from your space:
Only keep things that inspire you, motivate you, or that bring you joy. I like to light a candle too to bring me into the moment and to remind me to breathe.
3. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike:
Get started – action gains momentum. Sit at your desk/on the floor, pick up your keyboard/pen/pencil/paint, and begin to sketch/write/draw – just begin.
4. Have a quick morning huddle:
Choose a rotating moderator and strict start/stop times. If you don’t have a team, do it with friends. 20 mins in the morning can do wonders to get everyone going for the day. Make it a requirement for everyone to have their video on. The routine is good for them, they will thank you in the long run 🙂
5. Make it culturally okay for people to share ideas.
Create a space on your project management tool like Slack for people to share what they’re currently working on.
6. Lunch and learn sessions:
Once a week, schedule an inspiring speaker session during lunch. You can alternate between a speaker from inside and then outside your team/creative group.
7. Book 60 minute Rapid Idea Generation (RIG) sessions:
Set them up on Zoom with a chosen facilitator to really let the creative juices flow on a specific project. If it’s for a client, tune in to their specific audiences, and challenges to find new approaches.
8. Schedule it:
Block out daily ‘creative time’ in your calendar when you will switch off your phone/notifications and just allow your brain to wonder. This may be a more challenging task at the moment, especially if you have kids, but schedule your creative times when they are sleeping or engaged in their own activity. I love creating early in the morning before the rest of the world wakes up.
9. Creative field trips:
Normally, we would recommend getting out into the real world – parks, museums, musicals, etc., but at the moment, while we are all at home, you can still do this from your computer. Last night, I went on a field trip through the Vogue website to be inspired about editorial content and its digital implementation. Just choose a topic that mildly interests you and follow the bread crumbs. Pinterest is an excellent place to start. You can even find some kids to get messy with. If you don’t have your own kids, borrow someone else’s for an online painting session. Completely give yourself to the moment, forget about your boring adult problems and follow wherever they take you. Reawaken your inner child.
10. Keep a digital or physical scrapbook of your wonderings:
Instagram and Pinterest are great for digital musings. I keep a lined A5 journal for writing and a plain A6 one for sketches. At the moment, the kids and I are learning how to draw cats in our sketchbooks from a’ step-by-step’ book we inherited from their grandad.
Wishing you all a wonderfully creative Wednesday. Message us if you have any other innovative strategies to find the flow.
Kat Horsley, Managing Director, Chai Digital