How To Keep Your Creativity Flowing
One of Bailey Gardiner’s company values is creativity. We even have the word in our logo treatment. Clients rely on us to be creative, but sometimes our ideas don’t come as easily or are blocked. What do we do when our creativity seems to dry up? How do we fill our creative wells?
Although human beings are naturally creative, American culture does not nurture the creative process. We are born with the ability to learn, experiment and cope with life, yet by the time we are 10 to 12 years old – parents, peers, and certain education systems have had a negative impact on our creativity.
As it turns out, there is a process to being creative. For a work environment to be creative, it must allow for this process and empower employees to think, feel and contribute ideas. Here are some of the typical steps you’ll see people take to keep creativity flowing
Preparation – This is where we focus the mind on the project to explore the project’s scope and do research and development. Creative briefs and brainstorms at Bailey Gardiner are essential to get projects started.
Incubation – This is where we allow the unconscious mind to process the research and development. This can make those who are not involved in the process be nervous because it looks as though nothing is getting done. It also takes time, which is often in short supply in the marketing and advertising industry.
Insight – This is where ideas bubble up from the unconscious into conscious awareness. This is the “Ah Hah!” moment and can happen spontaneously while driving, taking a shower or even in a dream.
Verification – The idea is consciously acknowledged, developed and put into action.
On a personal level, filling the creative well is about self-care and inner and outer exploration. I need to take care of myself, eat right, get a decent amount of sleep and exercise. Inner exploration is drawing and painting, journaling, sewing, listening to music and mediation. Outer exploration is taking myself on an “Artist Date” which is all about answering the question, “If you were a child what would you want to do for fun?”
How do you keep your creativity flowing?
Great post! The incubation period is so important!
Creative ideas usually come to me when I am running. I push myself further and test my limits, and once I hit that runners wall, my mind relaxes and new ideas start to breathe into my brain.
Interacting with people who are really different from me, who approach their life differently and have conflicting views from me, and really listening to them and trying to put myself in their shoes – doing that also feeds my creativity.