Tragically, every day the corporate world falls victim to a horrible crime. Although many think creativity killers are running rampant, one of the biggest crimes involves only one person. Every day, thousands of employees are committing creativity suicide. If you think you, or someone you love, is at risk, please call 1-800-cre8ive, or continue reading this post.
My last post talked about how bosses can often stifle your creativity and I deemed them “creativity killers.” This was all well and good because we love placing blame on others. The truth is, however, that we can just as easily inhibit our own creative juices from flowing by doing things that cause us to commit “creativity suicide.” Here are a few tips that can help you make sure you are doing everything you can to optimize your creativity:
Quit Procrastinating. We all do it to some extent and have done it ever since middle school. Why do something now when you can do it a week from now? I’ll tell you why: it kills your creativity! Time crunches don’t allow us to reach our full potential on the task at hand. We get so caught up in getting it done by the deadline that we are forced to settle for less (see below). Use those time management skills you were supposed to have learned in college to stay on top of your work and give yourself plenty of time to plan out your tasks. Set aside time to do some brainstorming or to research similar projects or situations to find inspiration. You’ll be amazed how much better ideas you can think of when you give yourself a little time to actually think.
Don’t settle for less. As I just mentioned, although deadlines are good for keeping us on schedule and organized, they’re bad when they cause us to settle for a less than awesome idea. When working on a deadline, we (I) often get so frustrated with the project and flustered by trying to finish on time that we are willing to sacrifice quality to get the responsibility out of our hands. People need to learn that if a deadline comes up and you still don’t have a killer idea, then screw the deadline. I know this is often an unreasonable request for lower level employees, but when you’re talking about top level marketing executives who are working on a deadline for a multimillion dollar television spot, I’d much rather push back a deadline than spend that kind of money on a less than awesome idea.
Seek inspiration. A lot of time when it comes to thinking of ideas, people get into the competitive mindset and what to think of a better idea than everyone else. Although this is motivation, it causes collaboration, which is very helpful in ares like this, to suffer. When you’re trying to be creative, take an ego check and ask others for their ideas. This can be coworkers, but also family, friends, etc. For me there’s no better way of getting new ideas than asking someone else who will look at it from a different angle than you. A great way of doing this is just having a brain storming session with a group of people and bounce ideas off of each other and build off of their ideas. If you can avoid getting caught up in trying to get all the praise and credit, the project will benefit.
Also, look for inspiration in other places, especially outside of work. You’ll be amazed how you can come up with tremendous ideas in the least expected places. I’ve thought of some of my better ideas in places like my bed as I’m about to fall asleep and while taking a shower. So next time you decide to block out all of your work once you leave the office, think again, it may set off some lightbulbs in your head.
Grow a pair. A lot of the time, I’m convinced people have good ideas but they’re to afraid to share. They think the idea will get shot down because it’s too edgy and too risky for the company. Well how do you think most successful companies got where they are today? By taking risks! The conservative culture that has been ingrained in many companies unfortunately may be one of the biggest things inhibiting creativity because that culture becomes a part of you. The very least you can do is believe in your own ideas, be passionate about them, and convincingly pitch the idea. Most people don’t realize they have a crazy good idea when they first thought of it (thanks to Matt Chevy’s comment at Carlos Miceli’s blog for this tidbit).
Take some risks--like this dude.
Well, there you have it, ways to give yourself and your creativity a kickstart. Don’t put yourself at a disadvantage by committing creativity suicide.
Some questions to ponder in the comments section:
- Do you or someone you know commit creativity suicide?
- What are some techniques you use to maximize your creative potential?
- Which inhibits creativity more: creativity killers or creativity suicide?
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Check out @jackieadkins new blog post – “Are you committing creativity suicide?” – http://bit.ly/omUEr
{ 6 comments }
Growing a pair of balls could be the best thing that creatives ever do. However, be careful…because you can become kind of a dick as a direct result.
Don’t settle for the status quo and ask for what you are worth. You usually deserve it.
I really like these, particularly the last two. I think I’m the exception to the rule with the 1st one (well, depending on what I’m doing perhaps.) I need the adrenaline kick that comes with putting something together at the last minute. Until the pressure is truly on it’s hard for me rise to the occasion. Also, this is usually with respect to activation as I usually have been brainstorming, even if it’s inadvertent. I hate my conscience.
I genuinely don’t think of myself as that creative, especially when it comes to creating something. I’m better at consuming tons of information, finding gaps, figuring out how to connect things or finding something to fill those gaps. I guess in a way, this is creative, but not necessarily in the traditional painting, powerpoint, song writing sense.
It’d be easy to say creativity killers are worse, but I think in most instances we should point the fingers at ourselves. If instead of committing creative suicide, you really create and pitch a phenomenal idea, then chances are you can open the eyes of a creative killer.
I think an important piece of creativity is also realizing when you put out your best product. The same way some people are morning people and some are night owls, there are some people that work well with planning and plodding and plenty of time and some that need to feel the crunch to be at their best. As a natural OCD personality in many things you’d think my time management and process are impeccable but I thrive more under the pressure of the crunch. It’s when I’m at the end of it all and just have nothing but my thoughts and heart to pour out that it comes the best. Course I’m very high strung as well, so…
As for the rest I think you are right on. Mostly because they are all about the most important part of creativity, and that is being yourself. If you try to diminish that or feel like you don’t have anything “good enough” to contribute or grow stagnant in your development then you most definitely will pitch your creative self straight out a window!
Hahaha. I see what you did there.
Interesting point brought up here about everyone thriving creatively under different circumstances. As I mentioned in my post, in a time crunch I’m not able to concentrate as much on thinking creatively because I get too caught up in trying to get it over with.
I’d agree with you that you can overcome a creativity killer if you put yourself in situations where you’re able to excel creatively. Whereas if you are committing “creativity suicide,” it doesn’t matter if you have a boss who puts you in a creative-friendly environment.
To continue the analogy, someone can’t kill you if you already commit suicide.
Thanks for visiting the blog Elisa! I’d definitely agree that everyone can optimize their creativity under conditions that are unique to them. As I told Ryan, I work best when I’m not in a time crunch and can take time to think outside the box. The important thing is, as you said, being yourself, but also knowing yourself and creating conditions which you excel under.
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