How important is creativity to business? According to the 2020 Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum, creativity is one of the most important skills needed now and in the future. Creativity helps businesses with innovation, problem-solving, and original ideas. 

One of the top thinkers on creativity is Jeff DeGraff—known as the “Dean of Innovation”—an author of several books on creativity and innovation, including The Creativity Mindset. Here are seven ideas on how you can be more creative so you can generate more ideas, create more solutions, and improve your life and the lives of others. 

1) Take Breaks

To generate more ideas, do less work. When you focus on a task, you close yourself off from new ideas. This is great when you know what you need to do, but not if you encounter a problem. 

So take a break. You don’t need hours. Try a short nap or walk. Jeff suggests all you need to do is close your door and put your head down for fifteen minutes. That pause will help you feel recharged and ready to look at your challenges in a new way.

2) Get Exercise

Moving around is a great way to stimulate new ideas. How many good ideas have you gotten at your desk compared to when you went on a walk or run? 

Not only does exercise take you away from your focus on work or a problem, but it also gets your blood flowing and oxygen into your system, which can stimulate new ideas. 

3) Seek Creative Environments

To stimulate your thinking, find a place where you can think. For each person, that perfect environment is different. Some like coffee shops, while others need to shut themselves behind a locked door; some people like music, while others need silence. So try and find a place where you can relax—and the ideas will come.

4) Embrace Diversity

If you want to see things in a new way, seek out different points of view. People who read the same books, watch the same shows, and talk to the same people end up with the same ideas. 

In order to get a new take on an old problem, Jeff suggests you interact with people who don’t agree with you or have a different point of view. Their diversity of views will serve as a catalyst for your creativity.

5) Apply Ideas From Different Fields

According to Jeff, some of the best innovations came from ideas that were successful in one industry, then were incorporated into another. Steve Jobs once studied calligraphy, which inspired him to bring different fonts to his Apple computers. The creator of Starbucks merely imported the idea of cafes from Italy to the United States. 

What ideas can you bring from another field into your own?

6) Think Fast (Don’t Evaluate)

Sometimes the best way to come up with a novel idea is to think of lots of ideas fast without evaluating them. Jeff says when you focus on generating ideas rather than critiquing ideas, you can come up with something new. 

Analyzing can be the death of innovation. So kill the critic and put down ideas without prejudice. One of those ideas might spark something novel.

7) Find Others (Don’t Isolate)

Creativity tends to be a highly interactive process. In television, writers bounce ideas off each other in the writer’s room. In music, McCartney and Lennon bounced ideas off each other or were inspired by other artists. 

Jeff says solitude isn’t good for innovation. You may need to walk away from work to let ideas in, but then you need to interact with people to make those ideas better.

If you would like to learn more about creativity and innovation, contact BigSpeak Speakers Bureau to book Jeff DeGraff or another innovation speaker.

For More On Creativity:

6 Ways to Increase Your Business Creativity

Jeff DeGraff on Inspiring Creativity in the Workplace

7 Steps to Giving Creative Feedback From Pixar Story Veteran Matthew Luhn

Ways to Boost Office Creativity

Why Routine is Necessary for Creativity

How You Can Be More Creative in Your Life