10 Ways Stay Creative While Working Remotely
Staying creative can be challenging when you’re working remotely. Quickly sharing your designs with a teammate while passing their desk is now replaced by a lengthy meeting. Whiteboarding sessions in a conference room are now virtual screen shares. So, how can you keep the creative spark alive while sitting alone in your makeshift home office? Below are ten tips from our team — let us know which ones work for you!
1. Create a fake commute to work — The drive to the office was the perfect time to get inspired by your favorite podcast or playlist. Recreate that magic by grabbing your headphones and going for a ten minute walk before you start your workday.
2. Schedule shorter meetings — Not every meeting has to be thirty minutes to an hour. People’s calendars are packed these days, so don’t be afraid to book ten to fifteen minutes for a quick collaboration session.
3. Ditch the video calls (sometimes) — We all know you’re just looking at yourself the whole time, right? It’s been recommended that sometimes a phone call can be helpful to work out a problem or conduct a one-on-one. Pick up the phone, take a walk around the house, and talk it out.
4. Clean up your space — Gather those three coffee cups, two water glasses, and that lunch plate from yesterday. A clean workspace can help reset your creative mind.
5. Get off your computer and start drawing — Meetings in the office often consisted of group whiteboarding sessions. Pull yourself away from the screen and try sketching out some ideas.
6. Take a lunch break — You get a lunch break for a reason! Grab a bite, do a 30 minute workout, or just lay down. We all need breaks, and it’s ok to take them.
7. Interact in meetings — Virtual meetings can get tedious, especially when you’re in your seventh one of the day. Try to add or encourage interaction to your meeting to get everyone involved and paying attention.
8. Block off some time for your most important projects — Since people can’t swing by your desk to ask a quick question, they add time to your calendar instead. This causes a lot of your day to be dedicated to meetings. Block chunks of your week to make sure you have time to hunker down and get things done.
9. Connect with your team — Working remotely can make water cooler talk obsolete. Catching up with your team, asking how their weekend was, or telling them about your holiday plans is an important part of building a relationship with your coworkers. Try to take the first couple minutes of a meeting to catch up and check in instead of just jumping straight into the agenda.
10. Wrap up your day on time — When there’s no separation between home and office, it’s too easy to keep working well into your off-hours. When it’s time to stop working, stop. Rest is important for creativity, and will help you recharge for tomorrow.
