Low Tech Breaks Inspire Creativity

Jeneane Sessum — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 22:19:24 -0500

Working Solo discusses the benefits of taking a tech time out to rekindle imagination, creativity and drive.

Too few small business women take time out - from the business AND the office - to get the creative juices flowing. When business is going well it can be very enticing to just keep focusing on the business to take advantage of the surge in interest. On the other hand there is also the excuse when business is not going so well to hunker down and spend more time on doing whatever is required to bring the business in.

But when you are "doing the doing" you are generally not focused on where to next or how to make the business better. When you are in the middle of doing the creativity almost always seems to dry up.

Having personally hit the technology oversaturation point on too many occasions, I handle some of my toughest writing projects by walking away from my laptop. When the hardest assignments hit my plate, I head to the coffee shop or library with a notebook and a pen. If I can work it out on paper, then translating it electronically only improves the final product. But to get those initial ideas? Sometimes it takes the feel of a bic, some good-old-fashioned scratching and hard-copy reorganization.

Working Solo has this advice for independents who can gain much by getting out of the office to get into their business.

I would encourage you to leave the lists, projects plans and spreadsheets for another time. All you need to have with you are:

-Your vision for where you want to take your business in the next 12-24 months

-Large sketchbook and pens (coloured ones if that is your preference) for larger mindmaps or diagrams

-Notebook to capture words, content and information

-An open mind

-A ready supply of refreshments

-Anyone else that will positively contribute towards you creating a clear, creative plan for the future of your business

I'm taking a trip away from my laptop later this week, heading out to Rochester to visit family. I'll be doing some thinking, some writing, some remembering. But I'll be doing it with a pen, a notebook, and my daughter -- not my Acer laptop.

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Low Tech Breaks Inspire Creativity