In this article PermissionToPlay founder Kevin Mann shares his tips on embedding creativity into your everyday.

ABOUT KEVIN

Creativity sparks the imagination and inspires alternative perspectives. Practising creative thinking daily can unearth a wealth of opportunity and train your mindset to one of innovation and exploration. This is a vital component to business growth and empowers you, as an individual, to contribute to that growth. Here are six simple ways to build creativity into your daily routine to unlock your creative potential.

1. Do a doodle!

Have you drawn a blank, stuck at your desk struggling for ideas, headspace or waiting for those creative juices to flow? Make doodling part of your daily routine – see it as mental exercise. Suni Brown, the author behind The Doodle Revolution, penned that Steve Jobs used doodling to kick his creativity into action. So grab a notepad and pen and scribble away!

2. Try something new

Trying a new activity, whether it’s a cuisine, a tutorial class, or even a different walking route to work can encourage your brain to take in new tastes, surroundings or actions, and prompt it to think in new ways. When you step out of your comfort zone, your mind is stimulated and creativity grows without you even realising.

3. Singalong to music

Playing music while you work in a period of focus, or listening to the radio when getting up in the morning, gives you energy for the day or task at hand, but also frees your mind from what is in front of you to promote creativity. Music also makes tasks that seem monotonous more enjoyable and enables the brain to work creatively while the task is in hand.

4. Ask questions

Vocalising problems or challenges can provide different perspectives to help you ‘think outside of the box’. Use a notepad or sketchpad to write out or draw a spidergram or mind map and start putting down some initial questions, then see what sparks from there… you’ll be surprised what results will come up from this simple exercise.

5. Turn off your online devices

Sometimes, in an ‘always on’ world, you need a little time to just stop and think without distractions. Not just once in a while, but daily try to take a little ‘off’ time from the distractions that devices bring, such as during a brainstorming meeting, or before bed. This can enhance your creativity for the next day and allow your brain’s creative power to come into its own.

6. Get plenty of rest

We live in a culture of ‘busy’ as the norm, but being constantly moving from one task to the next gives your brain no time to think creatively. As in the point above, if you can avoid distractions and free up a little mind space, you will not only feel better for it, your creativity will begin to spark. It seems obvious, but if your mind and body are tired, you will struggle to find the creativity energy you need. Taking time to rest, and sleep, is pivotal to enabling creativity in your daily routine.

These are just some suggestions for improving your creative thinking ability, but like most things you want to get better at and do more naturally, it takes daily practice and some commitment on your part. Being aware of the ways you can help your mind to function better is the key, and you can then pursue those things that you know will help you.

PermissionToPlay delivers creative thinking training that helps teams gain the skills, mindsets and confidence to solve problems differently, generate original ideas more quickly, and build a culture where innovation can flourish.

If you would like to find out more about how our creative training packages can benefit your business, contact us today or call us on 0330 311 0034.