5 Ways to Increase Your Productivity in Creative Work

pablo (12)Creative work is hard.

New ideas take time. And effort.

These endeavors never seem productive. They require long periods of brainstorming, often requiring solitude or isolation. (Although sometimes teams work, too.)

Is it possible to get your creative work done faster?

Creating Faster

How do you create? Where do your new ideas come from?

If your work involves creating new concepts, you know that the process can be tough.

You write. You brainstorm. You think.

Sometimes the ideas come. And sometimes they don’t.

Yet, there are ways that you can increase your creative productivity.

‘With practice, you can learn to be more creative in less time.’

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Some people use rituals to get their mindset just right. Or special ways to get themselves “in the zone.”

While there is not one simple way to simply “be more creative,” there are proven techniques to help you create faster.

Here are 5 Ways to Help You Increase Your Creative Productivity:

  1. Do it Quick – A rough first draft is better than no draft. As well, an initial cut at something often gets the creativity flowing. So, make your first version quickly… and see what comes. If you are writing… just write. If you are brainstorming… post on the board whatever comes to mind.
  2. Play – Creating is hard work. Yet, one of the best ways to come up with ideas is to “play.” Have fun, joke, go out-side-the-lines. When you play, you will come up with creative ideas that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise.
  3. Draw or Write – It takes a particular type of person to be creative on a computer or when typing. Most people create best when they use simple tools like pen and paper. Write, draw, use a whiteboard. Manual tools will often get you going more than staring at a blank computer screen.
  4. Repeat – Repetition is one of the best ways to hone your ideas. Redo that initial rough draft.  If you are pitching an idea, keep repeating it over and over. You will improve with each iteration.
  5. Start Over – Another great technique is to start from scratch each time you try to improve your ideas. It can feel like a step back, but each time you do, you will create slightly different and better angles on your concepts.

Increase Your Creative Productivity

Creating new ideas is hard.

Finding time to develop those ideas can be harder.

With a few small changes in your creative process, you might find you can create faster, and increase your creative productivity.

Question: How do you increase your creative productivity? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

4 thoughts on “5 Ways to Increase Your Productivity in Creative Work

  1. Great tips, Craig! Reminds me of the creativity section in Charles Duhigg’s book Smarter Faster Better. Except… these tips are more actionable. 🙂

    Thanks for the insight!

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