How to Boost Your Productivity?

19 سبتمبر 2024

There seems to be a misconception that individuals and organizations should choose to be either creative or productive, and from a certain point of view, that makes sense.

Note: This article is based on blogger Deanna Ritchi, who gives us creative tips to boost productivity.

Art Markman, a professor at the University of Illinois, wrote in the Harvard Business Review: “There is a fundamental problem between productivity and creativity, and managers won't get creative until they realize it. Productive people work systematically through the tasks they have to accomplish, and they make steady, measurable progress toward their goals because they invest in their time effectively.”

“Creativity doesn't deliver what productivity does. It takes time and space to grow,” he says. At the same time, as blogger Boland Jones points out in an article on entrepreneurs: “This creativity leads to productivity,” according to Jones, which is true for the following reasons:

It encourages creativity to work.
It helps to address bigger problems.
It can motivate you and your employees by either improving their workplace or allowing their innovative ideas to be heard.
It is a spark of emotion, which in turn makes people emotionally invested in their work.
It removes the fear of failure.

Dr. Yoram Solomon writes in the Disruptor League: “If both companies make the same profit in the first year, by the fifth year, the non-innovative company will have 75-80% less profit than the innovative company. And “after 19-20 years, the percentage of profits will shrink to 35-50%. However, if we compare only companies with high profitability, the difference after 19-20 years will be 80%.”

In 2019, research by McKinsey & Co. reported that there is a “growing performance gap that separates innovative companies from companies trying to match these capabilities,” and there are two reasons why this is true. The study authors explain the following: “First, the ability to develop a bold but plausible ambition for innovation is underpinned by a clear vision of the economic value that innovation needs, and second, the ability to make difficult choices to allocate resources to people and money to leverage the value of innovation on a scale sufficient to make a difference.”

In general, if you want to increase productivity and profits, you need to harness the power of creativity. Here are ten ways you can achieve this.

10 ways to increase productivity and profits

1. Stay psychologically away from the problem

"Have you ever noticed how you can feel more creative about a problem when you're away from it, like taking a shower at home after work?" asks blogger Karla Lant-Zapier. It is an example of getting away from it psychologically.

According to psychology professor Lile Jia, psychological distance generates creativity, so we're more likely to think creatively about things that we don't experience in place or at the moment without stress, which means that to be creative, we need to feel a little out of touch with the problem. There's only one way to do that: consider someone else's perspective, and ask yourself who else is working on or talking about the issue?

You can also create a psychological distance from a problem by reframing it by thinking about the underlying issue. For example, Lant Zapper suggests the following: “If you want your team to come up with all the possible solutions to traffic congestion in a city, don't choose your city, and find similar city thousands of miles away if possible, with similar statistics to apply creative solutions.”

2. Daydreaming experience

According to a study in the journal Psychological Science, those who let their brains rest have a higher ability to remember, as having this ability allows us to think about multiple things at once and is a factor in intelligence and understanding.

The reason, as the study's researcher Jonathan Small Wood of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science put it in a statement, may be that “people with extra working memory are distributing it to think about things other than the things they do,” so how can you let your mind wander? One of the simplest techniques is to let yourself get bored, for example, reading boring reports or waiting in line without your phone.

3. Go for a walk

Perhaps it is one of the best pieces of advice when it comes to creativity. After all, some of the most creative thinkers of all time, such as Beethoven, Nietzsche, and Jobs, were fond of walking; however, research by Stanford University confirms this by discovering that walking increased the creativity of 81% of participants.

“Incorporating physical activity into our lives is not just good for our hearts, it's good for our brains,” said Stanford University behavioral and learning scientist and co-author Marily Oppezzo. “This research suggests an easy and productive way to integrate it into certain work activities.” Moreover, going for a walk can encourage the flow of ideas more freely.

Personally, I walk for 20-30 minutes during the afternoon, I leave my phone away, and I let my mind rest. When I return, I not only feel refreshed and renewed, but also I come back with new ideas. I also recommend walking around during an important phone call, or scheduling meetings on foot, so that your team can adopt new and unique ideas.

4. Change your routine

You don't have to do it daily. After all, a routine adds certainty and organization to your life; however, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone occasionally and welcome new experiences. For example, during your lunch break, leave the office and try your food at a restaurant.

5. Developing stress management skills

“Stress is a known killer of creativity,” says psychologist Robert Epstein, and as such, look for ways to handle stress better. Some suggestions include:

Prioritize your safety by doing healthy physical activity and getting enough sleep.
Spending time with friends and family can reduce cortisol levels and blood pressure.
Breathing exercises.
Track your time and identify your stressors.
Use essential oils, such as lavender, citrus, sandalwood, mint, or jasmine.
Celebrate your accomplishments to your small victories.

6. Use of music

Music can be a very effective tool. It can improve your mood, block distractions, and stimulate creative ideas. Let's look at it this way: if it works with the scientist Albert Einstein, then it will work for you too.

Einstein wrote in a magazine: “If I were not a physicist, I might have become a musician, often thinking about music, living my daydreams in music, seeing my life through the lens of music and enjoying life through music.”

If you can not play a musical instrument, then at least organize a playlist of songs. Ideally, music should communicate with you on a personal level.

7. Modifying your mood

Some studies have found that positive moods can stimulate creativity because they promote activity in the prefrontal cortex and the frontal cingulate cortex. They challenge creative thinking when you are in a bad mood. Walking outside can improve your mood. However, you may also want to consider other strategies, such as watching a funny video on YouTube or playing with your children or pets. You can also enjoy working through a gamification strategy or team-building activities.

8. Use of visual stimuli

According to Better Help, “This is a specific way to use your imagination; It's a cognitive process that consists of vivid mental images; you consciously change the images, which in turn changes your feelings about the subjects that the image's address, and as you practice visualizing the future you want, you create that future.”

You will need to take the following steps:

Choose a small, specific goal to help you grow for success.
Shape a vivid mental picture of the object or outcome you want, and imagine it as if it actually exists the way you want it to.
Reconsider throughout the day the image you conjured.
Add positivity to the mental image you've created.

Why do the most creative ideas often come to us in the shower? The Think Creative team explains why: “Relaxation activities - such as bathing, exercising or driving home from work -release the hormone dopamine, a chemical that gives us a sense of pleasure,” they say, “Dopamine triggers more creative ideas by increasing activity in certain parts of the brain,” and “a relaxed state of mind is key to creativity because we become smarter and more likely to communicate ideas.”

10. Write and organize your thoughts

Finally, whenever you have a random idea, write it down, and even if it sounds completely ridiculous, there are no bad ideas, and as entrepreneur Craig Bruce once said: “Nothing beats the beauty and elegance of a bad idea,” and then, when you have free time, organize these ideas, some of which may be worth working on. These are the thoughts that should not be discarded.