How Creativity Can Boost Your Productivity
It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. The to-dos, the appointments, the deadlines. We look for ways to just push through the mental and physical fatigue so we don’t fall behind. We lose sight of the reason we do what we do: the joy, the inspiration, the purpose it brings…the creative side of entrepreneurship.
Traditionally, when you think about productivity, it’s all about achieving more at a faster pace. It’s structure and timelines and check boxes. At the surface level, it appears to be the antithesis of creativity. Creativity is all about flexibility and ambiguity and openness. In actuality, allowing more creativity into your day can help you be more productive. Here’s how.
Benefits of Creativity
First of all, inspired work drives focus. We’ve all been there. You’re working on a project and the ideas are flowing. Your work seems almost effortless as it all comes together. You look up and you’ve managed to accomplish more than you ever thought in the time you have. When we are able to tap into our creativity, we ENJOY what we do.
As I’ve talked about before (Procrastination: Why We Do It & What To Do About It), our brains always want to do what is easiest and most enjoyable. When we try to force ourselves to do the harder thing, our brain revolts with constant distractions. We end up taking twice as long to complete a task or simply end up not doing it at all. That brings me to the second benefit of creativity: desire decreases procrastination.
If we include a creative element in a project, set a creative reward for completion, or add time in our day for creative thinking or free play, we’re more likely to complete our tasks without much objection from the procrastination struggle bus. Personally, I only undertake projects and partnerships that contain a creative element. Creativity is one of my core values, and I use it as a filter when deciding if a certain project or business path is right for me.
For the third benefit of creativity, I take you back to what I talked about at the beginning. It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day pieces of life. You don’t see the forest for the trees. Having creativity as a regular element in your life can help you regain that high-level perspective. It allows you to think bigger and imagine again. Creativity helps bring back your overall purpose and direction. It allows you to work toward something. It is much easier to get things done--and even more importantly, get the right things done--if you have a goal in mind.
Tapping Into Creativity
Creativity can take different forms for different people. For my husband, he loves playing with data and spreadsheets. Yup. For fun, he’ll compile data and test his formula-creating abilities to sort complex information. For me, I love to write. This blog, my emails to my list, and the content I create for my clients are creative outlets within my business.
So, what are areas in your life that bring out your creative side?
Sometimes, even when you know what activities bring out your creativity, it can be hard to get the ideas rolling. If you find yourself in a bit of a creative desert, here are a few suggestions:
Get out of your head and into your body.
Too much thinking can sometimes get in the way of your creativity. Instead of continuing to stare at that blank computer screen, try getting out of your head for a while. Go for a run, a walk, a hike, a bike ride, a swim. Do some yoga or tap dancing. While you focus your energy on the physical, your subconscious mind is free to wander a bit. You may find that after a little movement, the ideas start flowing easily.
Get in touch with what inspires you.
Our world is an incredible place full of art, nature, and imagination. Tapping into what inspires you can help kickstart your own creative endeavors. Take a trip to a museum, listen to music or a podcast, read a book, be in nature. Allow yourself to draw from the world around you to find your own spark of inspiration.
Let it go.
Sometimes it’s just not happening. It doesn’t matter that you’ve blocked off two hours for creative time. It doesn’t matter that you have the right music playing and a distraction-free environment. Instead of trying to force creativity, let it go. Move on to something else. Trust that it’ll come back to you when it’s ready (because it will).
