Whatever your job may be, it has its own culture with pros and cons. Sometimes these cultures are positive, and encourages you and your colleagues to innovate, and try new things. In contrast, there are many workplaces that have negative cultural practices that shut down creativity and ideas.  Either way, the following list will give you great ideas that can jump-start your creative thought process to continue leading the charge, or help shift your workplace culture.

Here’s our list on how to spark creativity in the workplace:

CREATIVE TIP #1 Remove your limited  thinking.

How many times have you been in a situation where they invest large amounts of time and money to kick off new initiatives, but then tell everyone all the limits they have to get it done…? It sucks.

Oftentimes, you’re too used to doing things a certain way that you get too comfortable stepping out of that comfort zone.

CREATIVE TIP #2 Explore the unknown.

Routine and habit can squash creativity. Once that happens, our minds are not challenged anymore.

To break the routine, do things you’ve never done before. Take a ride in a hot air balloon, sign-up for a writing or painting course, take a day trip somewhere, draw pictures, talk to someone new or try a new recipe.

How about reading books other than the usual?  We tend to stick with what we like. If you only read non-fiction books then you can be missing out on amazing fiction books and vice versa.

Choose an activity that thrills, inspires, or even scares you. When we take ourselves out of our comfort zone, pushing through our fears, we liberate ourselves, gain new perspectives and expand our creative minds.

CREATIVE TIP #3 Forget about the “How.”     

You can kill your creativity by focusing too early on implementation. The fastest way to kill the creative process is by producing tactical solutions alongside creative ideas.

This not only stifles the creative flow but also shifts the work environment into a “produce while editing” mindset.

CREATIVE TIP #4 Be specific about the objective.

We often get consumed with the “how” and forget the “why.” There can be 25 ways to get from your home to your office, but because we have always traveled one route or everyone travels that route, we go in the same direction every day.

Define your endpoint and allow yourself to craft the route, you are more likely to receive creative solutions.

CREATIVE TIP #5 Write  a list of 100.

State your question or issue at the top of a blank sheet of paper, and then you create a list of one hundred answers or solutions.

The benefit of creating this list is that your subconscious starts to engage in the process, ideas start to flow, uncovering new and surprising answers.

Don’t judge or evaluate ideas; you’ll review them later.

Don’t write complete words or sentences, if that slows you down.

Don’t stop to wonder how far in the list you are; number the lines from 1 to 100 in advance or use numbered lists if you’re using a word processor.

Don’t worry too much about repeating entries; duplicates can shed light on your patterns of thought.

CREATIVE TIP #6 Take brainstorming offline.

Some of the best ideas come when you’re not trying to think at all. Go for a walk, drive your car, and let your mind wander. When you aren’t focused solely on finding a solution to a problem, oftentimes, our brain finds it for us.

By changing the “topic” in your mind, you can allow your subconscious to work in the background and you’d be surprised how often you find your big idea!

CREATIVE TIP #7 Don’t lead discussions.

By leading a discussion – point-by-point – you are boxing yourself and others in.

If you have to lead, ask open ended questions and then back out of the “leadership” role and let the natural flow of comments, ideas, and inspiration come.

When we try to control things, it doesn’t allow us to think creatively – learning how to let go and let things naturally happen usually brings the best ideas out of people.    

CREATIVE TIP #8 Be Curious.

Start reading, watching, or listening to content that inspires you. Always wanted to learn how to build that shelf, go on Youtube and watch a video. Want to to learn more about positivity, download an ebook and listen to it driving to work.

Nothing kills creativity like playing it safe. To spark creativity, be curious and bring a beginner’s mind to problems. Channel your inner life-long learner and ask appreciative questions, like: “What would we do if we knew we couldn’t fail?” “What possibilities are there if we look at the other side?” “How could we disprove this theory or belief of ours?” And then listen!

That’s it! Now go out there and conquer the world with your new ideas!

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