Creativity in Your Career

It’s easy to fall into a monotonous routine at work that zaps your energy and leads to a lack of enthusiasm. Keeping your career fresh and compelling is your responsibility since your boss is not your career coach. Career engagement starts with you and these tips will help you hone your creativity at work.

Learn Something New

Whether you participate in conferences, webcasts or enjoy taking courses or workshops – pursue professional development opportunities that expand your skillset and provide a new challenge. Get creative and go beyond the expected resources and seek more innovative opportunities to empower the work you are doing now as well as what you want to do in the future.

Ask your employer to pay for this training as an investment in your career and offer to train others on your newfound skills so you can pay-it-forward.

Carry a Notebook

With smart phone technology at your fingertips, carrying a good old fashioned notebook or journal can get the creative juices flowing. Jot down notes, questions and inspirations when they strike and collect ideas, doodles, and mementos that inspire you.

Take it a step further and jot down your vision about what your career future looks like and add to that regularly to create an action plan to help you move forward.

Creative note taking keeps your brain sharp and nimble and the spontaneous thoughts you write down might lead to a blog post, white paper or strategic plan. A notebook and writing utensil that appeal to you aesthetically will also encourage you to write more often.

Change Your Routine

If you commute to work, chances are you take the same route every day. You probably have a routine that is automatic, which has trained your brain to expect the same old thing.

Mix up your routine to reboot your brain and create opportunities to experience something new. Take a different route to work, order a different type of coffee at your local coffee shop and take your lunch at a different time of day.

This change of pace will make you more aware and more engaged with the world around you. Creativity will lead to new discoveries and a new mindset at work.