Working writers and other artists know that you have to “work” at being creative. Writer’s block isn’t an option when you are being paid to crank out scripts, novels, or articles. So you have to make creativity a habit every day.
Make creativity a habit
It’s no different for entrepreneurs. Every day is a new creative challenge. How can we balance our budget? Get more customers? Create new marketing strategies?
- Stretch your brain – Facing a blank slate is daunting, but you have to start somewhere. Warming up your creative brain is similar to a runner stretching. Stretch your brain with new knowledge, new music, new input. Do something different every single day. Whether it’s driving down a new road, watching a new TV show or listening to a different point of view, try to stretch your brain as much as possible.
- Set a goal – Come up with 10 new ways to get more customers. Setting a goal forces you to focus on the task at hand. Don’t edit yourself. Just reach the goal of 10 new ideas and keep the ones that make sense.
- Keep an idea file – This should be for new products, new services, new markets and new ways of doing business. Put all of your research and notes into the files as you come up with them. You may not need it now, but keep it handy for the future. You never know when trends are going to change and you want to be ready to change with it. Be ready with new ideas.
- Get in your creative “zone” – What gets you in your creative zone? Is it a ritualistic cup of coffee or a certain kind of music? I found that writing a page of “stream of consciousness” nonsense will spur me to start writing. Do something. Anything. But just get started.
- Brainstorm with others – There’s no reason you have to create all by yourself. Brainstorm with someone else to get your creative juices flowing. Sometimes talking it out takes you on a completely different path that you hadn’t thought of. And input from someone else may give you ideas you wouldn’t have come up with yourself.
The bottom line is just to make creativity a habit every day. The more ideas you come up with, the better your chances of having one of them be brilliant.