improving creativity

One way to be more creative is to think about what annoys you in your daily life and come up with ideas for how to address these annoyances in a creative way. Think of all the things that rattle your cage and get you annoyed. What could be done to improve them? By focusing on these annoyances, you can tap into your own experiences and insights to identify potential problems and come up with solutions that are both innovative and effective. It’s highly likely that if you are annoyed with it then others are equally annoyed.

For example, if you are annoyed by the lack of healthy food options in your community, you might come up with the idea of starting a community garden or working with local businesses to bring in more fresh produce. If you are annoyed by a poorly designed user interface on a website or app, you could come up with a new design that is more user-friendly and intuitive.

Thinking about what annoys you can also help to spark your creativity by forcing you to look at a problem from a different perspective. By considering the things that bother you and coming up with solutions to address them, you can challenge yourself to think outside the box and come up with ideas that are truly unique and original.

In addition to helping you generate new ideas, thinking about what annoys you can also provide motivation to pursue those ideas and turn them into reality. When you are passionate about solving a problem or addressing an annoyance, you are more likely to be motivated to put in the time and effort needed to make your idea a reality. By focusing on the things that annoy you and coming up with creative solutions, you can not only be more creative, but also more motivated and driven to succeed.

For your homework, list all of the things that annoy you and then try and think of ways you could improve that product, process, or service.

Using logic can be great for evaluating ideas but when it comes to creating ideas try to break your pre-conditioned stereotypes by trying to think illogically.

Rather than thinking of just the first logical answer that springs to mind, a creative person will look for further and often more imaginative solutions. Try to remove the deep-rooted assumption/block that many of us enforce that logical thinking is better than illogical thinking.

In fact it’s often illogical thinking that creates great ideas!

In the end, the only real limitation is your imagination and creative ability to find novel solutions to problems.

I like this quote: “A creative person is one who can find a way to make an impossible situation possible.”

Many non-creative people tend to try to copy what they see rather than question and think in a different direction.

Ask yourself, “How would someone have made this before?”

Ask yourself, “How would someone have made this differently?”

Have some belief in yourself. Pay attention to even the smallest of ideas that pop into your mind. Thinking that you are not creative can be a strong barrier to the flow of creative ideas.

Record all your ideas in a notebook or on an electronic device and then experiment with moving these ideas forward to fruition.

Believe in yourself, believe in your ideas, and above all be persistent.

Imagination is a key differentiator between us and other animal that we share this planet with.

Don’t waste this skill. Improve your creative abilities by using your imagination to its full advantage.

You can use imagination to take you forward in time, backwards in time, replay events or freeze time.

You can also use your imagination to visit unseen places such as faraway planets. Use your imagination to change your perspective – fly in the sky and view something from above.

Make the vision in your mind larger, smaller, thinner, wider or faster, or slower. Try changing the color or the purpose of what you are viewing.

Imagination is limitless so start daydreaming and practicing this skill immediately. However please don’t try this while driving a vehicle!

Music can arouse your creative spark.

Research has shown that certain types of music can put your brain into a relaxed alpha state.

So pick a track that inspires you, sit down, relax, and listen.

Return To Improving Creativity

Fun almost always leads to increased creativity. If you are enjoying yourself, laughing and smiling, etc. you are more prone to coming up with creative ideas.

Think of it is way, if you’re feeling sad, down or depressed, in a serious mood or doing something that simply isn’t fun then you’re not enjoying the moment and therefore it is going to be highly unlikely for you to come up with something new and inventive.

To promote fun in a work environment, have more casual dress days or the opposite where you dress up as if you’re going to a ball, attempt to turn tasks into team games, have work sessions away from the office, have a day where you dress in costume or invite your team to a pot luck lunch where people all make a course based on a theme.

Fun makes life interesting, so even if you don’t come up with a great creative idea while having fun you will no doubt have enjoyed trying.