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In my line of work, my creativity is an inventory as well as an asset. It is my ideas that set me apart from the average database housekeeper. Think about it. Everyone obtains his or her blogger database from the same source – the Internet.  What makes you any different from the other database housekeeper? What justifies having the client pay you for a task that, honestly, doesn’t require more intellect than it does with patience?

Your ideas.

On that note, I’d like to say it is incredibly disgraceful for any agency to steal the ideas knowingly from another agency (or worse, a student), even if the shameless clients insist so. Now aren’t you an overpriced housekeeper.

Sound ideas don’t come easy, but an 11-year fine arts education combined with 3-year brutal business school boot camp training and half-a-decade of actual practice with over 20 brands does help. I’m thankful for that.

Creativity is inherent to the success of any brand. Creativity is inherent to the growth of any culture. Creativity is the reason why you pay 200 million for an original Salvador Dali painting, and 20 bucks for a knockoff from a Balinese street artist.

Some might argue that creativity is innate and that it is a talent more than it is a skill. While I agree to a certain degree, I believe creativity can be cultivated as well. The recession’s great for creativity. It is only at your poorest that you learn how to be creative with your limited resources.

Here are 5 ways you can increase your creativity.

1 | MAKE SPACE FOR CREATIVITY in the environment you work in. This is how mine look like.

I appreciate toys (The Crow holds on to my iMac remote control) and I have them keep me for company while I work. Tardiness distracts me and hence I keep my workstation as neat as I can. Have a look at the workstations of the top websites, including the likes of Problogger and SpoonGraphics, and understand how your environment matters (thanks for this, Alen).

2 | SLOW DOWN AND OBSERVE the world around you. This TED presentation by Carl Honoré, sums it up best. In today’s time staved world, we tend to miss the beauty surrounding us. Take time. Inspiration is drawn from observation. What have you observed lately?

3 | CRITICISE CREATIVITY, especially if its your own. I have seen 100-slide presentations with a massive collection of ideas and none of which made cow sense. I have a personal QC technique that I practise religiously, particularly with my own ideas – if a 7-year-old could’ve told you the same thing, don’t present it. If there is no “OMFG, this is brilliant!” element, don’t present it. Have some respect for your own job, would you? Just remember one thing – the client does not pay you to lie. Be brave enough to criticize your own goods.

4 | BE A SOCIAL WHORE and mingle with different tribes of passion. Sticking by our own tribe is great for vertical expansion of knowledge, but it halts our linear knowledge. When we become too preoccupied with ourselves, we tend to become myopic and close-minded. Close-mindedness and creativity don’t gel. They never do.

5 | LEARN TO VISUALIZE YOUR OWN IDEAS in an organized framework in your mind. I picked this skill up when I was six or so from my art teacher who taught me to construct my painting in my mind before I execute against a canvas. This preparatory skill has enabled me today, to massage fuzzy ideas into a logical framework mentally. It enables me to make sense of my idea (and also eliminate all that don’t make sense).

This article has been inspired by the original article of the same title from Fresh Creation.

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