“I’m just not creative.  Leave creativity to artists or musicians”

Are you one of these people?  People who feel that creativity is limited to the lottery of the gene pool?

The truth is we all have the ability to be creative.  Creativity is a muscle.  You simply have to know how to flex it.

How we try to be creative

There are endless ways people try and induce creativity.

• Drugs
• Exercise
• Eating better (or worse)
• Endless research

among many, many others.  The problem with this is that these do enhance creativity.

To a point.

I fully agree that the more clarity you have from eating better and exercising will help you be more creative.  It also goes without saying that a high amount of experience in very different fields (online marketing, violin playing, Mandarin speaking and windsurfing, for example) will only help creativity.

How is this done?  It sounds counter intuitive, but the best way to enhance creativity is to constrain yourself.

The problem is that this approach is inconsistent.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  So how does one solve the problem of inconsistent creativity?  What is present when creativity is rolling?  What’s missing when you can’t be creative for the life of you?

The problem of choice

A major block to creative work is the problem of too much choice.  With the internet giving us answers in seconds and businesses catering to our every obscure need, creativity seems to be less important than it was in the past.  Solutions to our problems are seconds away, so it doesn’t make sense to try and be creative. Continue reading →

I sat down to write today, but couldn’t find the words. So instead, I began cleaning out my closets and purging old clothes that I haven’t worn in a year. An hour later, I was moving my couch and sweeping underneath, then dusting my TV, and putting on clean bedding.

It was then that I remembered I needed a clean, uncluttered environment to help me think creatively.

This applies to my house and also to my desk at work. I often find that when my desk is cluttered, so is my mind.  A little cleaning, organizing, and some quick feng shui helps my creativity flow much easier. And other things that need to be accomplished no longer distract me. Out of sight, out of mind.

After thirteen years in the advertising and marketing game, I’ve come to recognize the important factors necessary for my personal creative process. I need to remove all the obstacles. Clear the clutter. Turn off the television. Log out of Facebook and Twitter. And just focus my attention to get ‘er done.

It’s a funny thing, creativity. It can sneak up on you when you least expect it, or disappear right when you need it most. I decided to reach out to my network to find out what makes them feel more creative on the job. Everyone I spoke with seemed to have different methods of unlocking and super-charging their creativity.

Doug Bramah, Creative Director in Toronto, and Mark Busse, owner of Industrial Brand both gave similar insights; that heading out of the office and finding a change of scenery is the best way to reunite with your creativity.

“Most agencies have these open work environments; they’re noisy and there’s a lot of distraction. Sometimes that stifles the creative process.”

Says Bramah.

“Parks, coffee shops, restaurants – just changing where you do your work can make a big impact.”

But not all of us can come and go as we please. Continue reading →