How To Boost Your Creativity

Why bother boosting your creativity? If you’ve read the current employment news, you’ve probably seen studies that show how much employers value creativity. In an ever-tightening economy, this emphasis makes sense. Employees who can come up with creative solutions to problems are a real asset to any company.

Of course, being creative helps with more than just your job. The ability to solve problems effectively is important in every aspect of life. Everyone encounters obstacles, both professionally and personally, and creativity is necessary to address them.

So how do you think creatively? For starters, strive to be healthy. Your mind can’t operate at peak performance if your body is rundown. Naturally, you need to do the following:

• Get enough sleep
• Eat a healthy diet
• Exercise regularly

Beyond taking care of yourself, brainstorming is an approach you can use to enhance your creativity. When you brainstorm, you allow your mind to wander and develop new approaches to a problem.

We are creatures of habit. We tend to use the same approach to a problem again and again even if that approach isn’t working. Albert Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Brainstorming is a way to break this pattern and develop new approaches.

One of the nice things about brainstorming is its simplicity. Try these five steps:

1) Find a comfortable place to work. Take this time to step away from co-workers and family.

2) Write out your problem. This step is vital. You need to define your problem before you can effectively solve it.

3) Consider all possible solutions and approaches to the problem without judging or filtering them. Don’t reject a possible solution as too far-fetched or not possible. Simply record all the ideas you can think of without censoring yourself.

4) List twenty or so possibilities so you have an assortment of ideas.

5) Review your ideas when you finish and carefully consider which ones might work. Sometimes the oddest idea ends up being the one with the most potential.

What if you get stuck? Try thinking about what the ideal end result would be for your problem. For example, if your problem is lack of customers, consider what the best-case scenario would be. How about that you’re swamped with customers? Now think about what would draw those customers to you. By approaching the problem from the desired end result, you often can think of new ideas.

Have a favorite way that you use to boost your creativity? Please share it with us in the comments below.

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