4 Ways to Harness Inspiration

Brooke Watson

Are you in a professional slump? Is it taking all of your energy to produce fresh ideas and serve your clients? Whatever roadblock you’ve found yourself against at work, it could be that it’s time to rediscover your source of inspiration and take a mental break. However, in our busy world, it is often difficult to find a meaningful and feasible way to do so. Next time you find yourself grasping for creative ideas or suffering from a case of writer’s block, try some of the following tips to get your groove back.

Photo Courtesy to Flickr User
Charles Skipwith Smith

• Remove yourself from the problem. When possible, taking a step back from the issue is almost always a good plan. After so many hours at the drawing board analyzing the dilemma up close, you’re often so focused on one element of the problem that you end up missing the big picture. Being able to include all relevant angles is key when tackling any problem, so being able to take a break and approach the concept from a new perspective will boost your creativity and will ultimately help you be more successful.
• Brainstorm with colleagues. If you’re not already doing this in business, you should give it some serious consideration. While it can initially seem intimidating or even embarrassing to admit that you’re stumped by a recent challenge, it’s actually a trick for gaining a new perspective when you’re short on time. Brainstorming sessions trigger a multitude of ideas and can lead to an answer in a quarter of the time it would have taken you to reach alone.
• Refer to yourself. Another nice trick when harnessing inspiration is looking back in your work portfolio. Do you see any projects completed in the past with a similar theme? What about references to outside work? Oftentimes, you can utilize an answer from the past and modify it to fit your current situation.
• Research. Arguably the most important element to inspiration, it is crucial to understand the culture of the dilemma in order to successfully tackle it. Keep yourself in the know, and study social media trends and recent news to ensure you take a modern approach. Ill-informed creativity is poison to any current project.