7 Things That Kill Creativity

Creativity is not something that can be bought at a grocery store. It is an in-built quality found in most of us.

And it is usually up to us to hone it. However, just like exposure to loud noises affects our hearing, exposure to certain things affects our creativity. Here is a list of 7 things that prevent you from being creative.

Working Round The Clock

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Anytime anyone asks your friends, mom, girlfriend or wife about your whereabouts, the one answer they always receive is, “Oh, he is at work.” Be it weekends, public holidays or late nights, you’re someone who people look up to. When they talk about you, they say, “Oh, he is like a machine. You will find him at his desk even if you call him at 3 in the morning.” No, it doesn’t mean you’re being creative or productive. In fact, you could be doing more harm than good to both your career and company. People who work themselves to the bone aren’t necessarily at their creative best most of the time. You ought to take enough breaks. You need to learn to balance your work and life. To keep your mind fresh and full of ideas, you need to take time off to travel, restrict your work timings. It will help you refuel.

Stress

Image Credit: Thinkstock

Sometimes a little stress is good. It gets the blood pumping through your body and it pushes you to do your best. But when stress gets a little too much, it hampers your productivity and prevents you from doing your best. So every time you feel that you’re getting stressed, do things to calm down, get your balance back, leave what you’re doing, and go home. If that is not possible, close your eyes, take deep breaths and think of happy things.

Nine-to-five Monotony

Image Credit: Thinkstock

A routine is boring. Why do you think they call anything routine a donkey’s job? Suppose your job involves designing web pages. If you do it day in and day out, it kills the uniqueness of the job. It becomes mechanical instead of being creative and fun. Break the pattern - enroll yourself in a quick designing course. a simple thing like changing your work timings could work too; change the machine you work on; swap places with your colleague. The idea is to break the monotony. Do whatever it takes to get your mojo back.

Get Out Of The Box

Image Credit: Thinkstock

If someone stuffs a bunch of roses in a tight box, what do you think is going to happen? They will die, no matter how beautiful and fresh they looked before. Being stuck in a cubicle is kind of like that. You need to come out of the four walls, leave your mahogany desk and cushioned-chair behind. Ideas will never come to you if you don’t have a change of setting. You need to switch your brain off, let it relax, recuperate. Once the brain is off pressure, it will come up with ideas on its own, because believe it or not, there is a lot of work going on in there without our knowledge.

Social Awkwardness

Image Credit: Thinkstock

If you’re not saying even a “hello” to your colleague in the adjoining chair when he arrives in the morning, then you’re surely missing out on something. An occasional chat or a friendly banter will enhance your mood and creativity. If you talk to people with different backgrounds, experiences and cultures, it might just help you open up your mind. Not only that, you also have the opportunity to make new friends who may help you out when you need to come up with a new brand building activity or a brand name within 24 hours.

Political Drama

Image Credit: Thinkstock

Once you get embroiled in office politics, you can forget about creativity. Petty fights, acrid gossips, and backbiting: all of these things can kill creativity in a second. So stay away from all this nonsense, focus on your work and try giving it your best.

Fear

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Fear can be a real creativity killer. If you are afraid to try new things, take a risk and do something different, then you’re stifling your creativity. Most people are scared that if they come up with something innovative, something that has never been tried before, and if it fails, they will become a laughing stock. But that is so much better than staying the same and never trying to change.

So if you want to become more creative and innovative, you need to start making little changes in your life. Wake up and grab life by its collar and give it a good shake up.