Think spending a weekend on a mountain in Nepal is the only way to get in touch with your creative side? Think again!
Creative marketing is one part good sense, one part research, one part experience and at least ten parts creative thinking. In a perfect world we’d all have an unending, unrelenting supply of creativity that would keep our edges sharp and our marketing materials toeing the line. In reality, however, a week of pushing our brains to the limit at a 9 to 5 pace can leave us mentally depleted…and creatively challenged.
A quick trip to the mountains can do wonders to recharge your creative batteries. So can sitting around your house! Yes, that’s right, your sofa could hold the key to a lifetime of successful, creative marketing. Who’d have guessed?
Here’s are 10 unexpected ways to shake off the mental null of the week and revitalize your brain cells so you walk into work on Monday brimming with creative potential.
Did you have your wedding pics with a soccer ball? Don't be afraid to think outside the box!!
1) Watch TV and cruise the web (but not too much). A lot of people will argue with this one, which is why I put it first. 45 minutes of television does wonders to revitalize my energy and recharge my creativity when I’ve hit a slump. Not only does vegging out in front of the tv require very little brain power, letting your batteries unwind, it also opens a whole new world where anything’s possible. Let your mind chew on that for a night or two and you might be surprised at what it spits back out!
2) Play with your kids. “Barbie can’t swim to the moon.” “Why?” Nothing breathes creativity like the unfettered mind of a child. Step away from the computer, pick up a doll or a horse or the broom and play with your kids.
3) Take a yoga class. By the end of the week your mind is filled with useless clutter that’s just sitting around taking up valuable real estate. Leftover resentment from your argument with a co-worker, new changes or revision requests from a client, the unending to-do list you have to tackle on Monday. Yoga is based on a clear mind and a healthy body, both of which will do wonders to increase your creativity.
4) Clean your house. Can you move freely in a cluttered room? Can you dance? Can you sing? Of course not, and neither can your mind! Grab that broom (the one you were just riding on a minute ago) and the vacuum and get to work.
5) Fingerpaint. Maybe it’s the simple mindlessness of the process. Maybe it’s watching the colors swirl together. Maybe it’s as simple as transporting yourself back to the innocence of youth. Don’t ask me why it works. I just know it works.
6) Start a pick-up game. Are you a basketball player? A baseball fanatic? A fan of touch football in the park? Grab some friends and start a pick-up game. Make it a regular thing. Being around people exhilarates you, the game will challenge you, and you’ll come home tired but fresh and ready to tackle anything the day wants to throw your way.
7) Pick up a pen and a piece of paper. You do remember what those look like, right? The more time you spend staring at a computer screen, the more time your mind spends slowly shutting down at the thought of having to do it for even one more minute. Writer’s block, anyone?
8) Get in touch with your inner Yankovic. Pick a song off the radio and make up your own lyrics. It can be about anything (your dog, your house, doing the dishes, current events) as long as it’s not what the writer was singing about in the first place. Remember, creative marketing hinges on your ability to think outside the box. Rewrite your favorite Top 40 hit and find out just how far “outside the box” your mind can go!
9) Take a nap. We are, as a society, almost ridiculously sleep deprived. Trying to think when you’re tired is hard. Creativity becomes the impossible dream.
10) Pick up a book. Creativity inspires creativity. Creative authors who express their ideas and keep you actively interested throughout the life of their story know what they’re doing. The more you read, the more your brain will instinctively follow in their footsteps and the easier coming up with great ideas for creative marketing is going to be!