how creative people behave, part II

I blogged How creative people behave, part I two weeks ago, it's about time I wrote part II. Based on the second great article on the subject - 10 creative rituals you should steal. This post is about my personal views on the 10 things mentioned.

1. Take quarterly vacations - would love to, if it was financially possible. I don't think it is for very many of us. But I think the "get off the grid" and relax always is a good thing to do regularly. Staycations with that aim are the not so rich people's version.

2. Regularly hold retrospectives - super important I think. Not only if you work in a group or on projects. As a small business owner you need to do it with yourself regularly, what went well, what went less well, why and how can I improve things for next time. And remember to treat yourself to something special when you've done something really good.

3. Write every day - duh. Absolutely essential for your creativity and well-being! You work so much things, issues, problems through that way. Everything, really, becomes clear with putting the pen to the paper or, as most of us do, tapping the keyboard. You'll find your clarity. And the best thing is that the more you write the more you want to write and the more ideas you get. Heart.

4. Meet interesting people-fund - I can only concur. Going to events where interesting people talk (like TEDx and such) and be inspired. Do lunch with interesting people regularly. Twitter is actually a great source for that. Suggest lunch or coffee and find that most people are delighted to meet up and they're often just as great in irl as online. If you find mindless and forced mingling awkward and unappealing, find a business speeddating event in your area. You never ever know what great things those meetups might lead to... Things rarely happen overnight, but keep you eyes and mind open for people and opportunities and they WILL appear, I'm sure.

5. Surround yourself with inspiring things - well of course! The importance of beauty and inspiration. Creating mood boards is a simple way to do it.

6. Take a nap every day - I never do. Because I know I will not be able to sleep at night that way. And I never really feel like a nap, I'm either wide awake or ready to sleep for many hours, there's no in between for me. To be honest I did take naps daily when I worked at really horrible workplaces, because I was so tired to the bone. It never did any good for me, my creativity, productivity or well-being and I will forever associate the need for daily naps with bad work environment.

7. Envision what you will be remembered for - I find this to be a really good advice! It's another way to set goals, visualize and put your dreams into words. I find that I talk a lot about my dreams and goals these days (have far from always been very clear with that), but I'm not as good on writing them down. Will do that now.

8. Brainstorm in the cafe - spot on! The article mention "bar" and not cafe, but I totally believe in the inspirational and creative buzz you get in a good cafe. I don't do bars. But cafes are some of my happy places.

9. Get out and about - to clear your mind and be inspired when the ideas run dry, take a walk, change the scenery, do people watching, try something new, it's energizing and good for both mind and body.

10. "Morphological synthetis" - hadn't heard about the concept before, but reading about it it makes good sense. Good advice on a creative mindtool.


What did you think about the article?
Are there things there you already practice?
Did you get some good advice to
boost your creativity?