10 Easy and Simple Ways to be More Creative

According to the results of a recent IBM survey of 1,500 chief executives worldwide show that creativity is the most crucial trait for success—more so than management skills, discipline, integrity, and vision.

How to be more creative? Here are the 10 easy and simple ways:


1. Think: The most powerful way is to tell yourself that whatever you do, there must be a better way. On a daily basis look at the things that you are doing critically, think, and find out how you can get things done in less time without sacrificing quality. Can you do away with it? Can you simplify it?

2. Change: Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results. The keyword here is change. Do a thing in a different way, experience it; test it until you get a better result.

3. Imitate: Imitation is not just copying per se. According to an article in the Harvard Business Review (April 2010), Imitation is More Valuable Than Innovation, imitators often overshadow innovators

• White Castle (imitator: McDonald’s)
• Diners Club (imitators: Visa, MasterCard, American Express)
• Korvette (imitator: Wal-Mart)
• Saehan Mpman (imitator: Apple iPod)

The reasons are that imitators are creative. They copy the ideas and they adjust, combine, modify, and improve the concepts to suit their own needs. In the article, researchers looked at 48 innovations and discovered that 34 of them- almost three-quarters - were copied.

4. Observe: Study and examine to see how things are done. A lot can be learned from others. Capitalized on their good points.

5. Read: The more you read, the more you know about how things get done. The more you know the more innovative you are.

6. Sleep: Think hard about your problem and sleep over it. Let your subconscious mind work on it. You never know when you wake up the next day; the answer is already in your mind. By the way, when you sleep well, your mind is refreshed and you can think better, it means you will be more creative.

7. Relax: You can’t be creative when you are stressed. Learn to unwind and relax. Creative juice can only be nurtured when you are cool, calm, and collected.

8. Move: It means to exercise every day, especially aerobic exercise like jogging to send more oxygen to your brain. Vigorous exercise stimulates your thinking process and enhances your creativity

9. Talk: Get away from your work and talk to someone about everything and anything. Shift your mind’s focus. Ideas can occur while you talk casually to someone.

10. Ask: To ask is to probe. Find out the what, who, why, when, and how of everything to satisfy your curiosity. What you get may give you the “Ah-Ha!” effect to your problems.


To be more creative, think more often, read more widely, observe more carefully, ask more questions, identify more bright ideas, and make more changes.