Wake Up Your Creativity

As creative leaders we’re charged to create magic on a daily basis. This is what jolts us out of bed in the morning and, if you’re anything like me, usually lasts until your second cup of coffee has just about vanished.

The truth is, many of us have no idea how to manage our creative energy and are thus usually rendered completely useless by 11am. It’s around this time that our Western, ultra-linear achievement gene kicks in. We begin to try harder, focus more intently, suck down another energy drink, and “power through.”

Except it never works quite like we hope. This “knuckle down” approach seems to clash with what inspired us to leap out of bed just a few hours earlier.

As creative leaders, our job is to deal with matters of the soul, to illustrate and connect with the deep meaning that simmers inside humanity and bring it to a boil. We understand better than most people that the soul is the most powerful thing that connects human beings, but one of the most challenging things to measure. When we achieve this connection, however, the results are un-doubtable. Numbers skyrocket. Communities form. Our products fly off the shelf.

Our job as creatives is truly a tricky one. Tasked with navigating other people’s souls on a daily basis, we must keep our own properly stocked with enough energy to carry on. It’s strenuous. This marriage of filling up and pouring out becomes easily imbalanced when we forget to tend to it. Thus, we fizzle over the course of a day, week, month, or entire season; often making it worse by attempting to fix it with the wrong medication.

“I’ll just work harder.”

“I’m going to stay late tonight.”

“I probably just need another cup of coffee.”

These go-to defenses, steeped in misconceptions and shame, are the direct result of our lack of understanding of what creative discipline actually looks like.

I recently came across one of the most misguided leadership articles I’ve ever read. In it, a CEO made the argument that her company was no longer hiring any “creative people” or “accepting creative ideas” and instead was solely focusing on those who would immediately advance the business. In her experience, she argued, creatives never stayed on point or advanced the bottom line.

This executive, in addition to being short-sighted, represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be creative. Creative people are often seen as undisciplined, erratic, and impractical. In fact, creative people often view themselves through this very lens.  I suggest however, that for creativity to be effective at all, it must be understood and practiced as a discipline.

At our branding company, Cardboard, we say we ‘practice the discipline of imagination’ to help companies grow. Our purpose is to produce active imaginations: people who are trained how to think creatively and execute practically.

I’ve come to realize that some of the most substantial creative minds may in fact appear to operate haphazardly but in reality, have trained themselves to master their craft through repetitive and rigorous exercise.

If we are truly in the business of illuminating souls, it’s crucial we set proper disciplines in motion to keep ours illuminated as well. It’s what allows for a healthy exchange of input and output. Here are 3 disciplines I’ve found work for waking up the soul when it needs it most.

1.Realize When You’re in Flow: No one is creative 24 hours a day. Otherwise there’d be no need for apps like Buffer, Hootsuite, and Evernote designed to capture ideas for later use. Pay close attention to the time or times of day you are most creative and set parameters around those windows. Turn off emails. Say no to meetings. While you’re at it, turn down the guilt and shame. You have something to do, this IS your job.

 

2.Practice Rhythms of Rest: The human body is designed to rest on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. Most of us only practice one or two of these rhythms, but all four are meant to work together to create a restorative, sustainable cycle. This rhythm, rooted in biblical commandments, ensures we don’t go too long without the appropriate amount of restoration. Assuming you have the sleep and weekend thing down (which I realize is a big assumption), consider taking one day a month out of your routine to recharge your brain through whatever art or activity fuels your soul. Take in a movie, play soccer, go to the beach. Your work deserves a more energized, creative you.

 

3.Change Your Environment:  One of the simplest things you can do to get out of a creative funk is to transport yourself somewhere other than where you are. It doesn’t have to be far. It could literally mean taking a walk around the building or neighborhood, going on a short drive to somewhere you’ve never been. It’s been scientifically proven that our brains think differently when we’re in a new environment. Take advantage of this phenomenon and get into the practice of displacing yourself.

 

4.Create for No Apparent Reason: For some reason, this has been the hardest one for me to adopt. For all of its advantages, one of the disadvantages of this new DIY market we all find ourselves in is that it can create an angst to publish every little thing we produce so that people will take us seriously as creators. Some of my most measurable breakthroughs have happened, however, during moments of seemingly useless creativity, when I’m creating solely for my own enjoyment.  When you’re in the business of doing naturally heady work, that head needs a context to process and filter. Creating without pressure, is one of the most  beneficial.

 

Viewing skills like creativity and imagination as serious disciplines is the first step in reclaiming their worth in a culture that doesn’t always understand how they work. Even more valuable, it may also be the first step in reclaiming your creativity.