The Synaxis Keystone Marketing System provides a phased approach to the implementation, rollout, and operationalization of marketing measurement tools, web tools, and communications tools.
HomeArticle
Sharpen your Creative (and Professional) Edge
In this sluggish market, it's easy to go through the motions at work when budgets are tight and creative initiatives are few. While it's good to clean out old files or catch up on billing, too much administrative time on your hands can dampen your creative spirit.
You've heard the phrase "use it or lose it". That applies to your inner artist too and in this field we are all artists at heart.
How to rekindle the spark? Remember back to when you were bored in math class. You doodled. You invented your own super hero or drew flowers along the edge of your notebook. You wrote witty notes to your best friend. Out of those simple, almost mindless pastimes, a career in design, writing, or production was born. So, if you find you've got some time, get out a pencil and paper and open your mind. It's time to renew your creative edge.
Daily Exercises for a Creative Mind
Go beyond picking up your camera, paintbrush, or guitar for an afternoon. Think of creativity as an ongoing exercise that can be infused into your daily life. Use the following to kick off other innovative ideas of your own.
- When watching TV, critique the commercials and write down how you would make them better.
- Rewrite a passage of the book you are reading and improve the characterization or add a plot twist.
- Try to think in rhyme.
- Pay close attention to the cinematography and choice of music in a movie. Imagine a different way to film a particular scene or another song that would have enhanced the moment.
- Make a centerpiece for your table from cuttings from your yard—but not from flowers.
- Think about how you would describe what you are eating to someone without taste, or what you are seeing to someone who is blind.
- Keep your furniture in the same place but rearrange the lamps, pillows, photos, mirrors, candles and plants until the room looks completely different from every angle.
If you train your brain to go through this type of exercise everyday, then exploring higher levels of creativity will become a habit. You will start to see the world a little differently and realize there are discoveries in your daily life hidden within things you've seen or done a thousand times.
When you bring this heightened imagination and fresh perspective to your work, interesting things will happen. You might produce your best work in years. Your clients, and your boss, will remember why they picked you in the first place. And, perhaps best of all, you'll remember why you love what you do.
Share the Love
If you are a manager, assign one of these ideas to each of your team members and have them present their findings at your next staff meeting. Just as your own productivity and quality have been enhanced, watch how your team advances their own creative skills and how that translates into big wins. Encourage your children and your friends in the same way because regardless of the field of interest, a creative mind can enhance any experience and that inspiration can be shared.
