Summer is essentially over, we’ve been in quarantine for six months now, and various injustices are broadcast on the news on a daily basis. I’ll be honest - it can be hard to summon the energy to work.
Energy slumps are real, and many people feel them in waves. We took an informal poll during a team meeting last week and found that more than half of the office was in a funk. However, as a company that prides ourselves on being digital solutionists, we still have to rise to the challenge every day to offer innovative ideas to our clients’ unique problems, even when we’re not feeling quite ourselves.
Wondering how to do the same? Try out the following tricks with your team to see if it sparks fresh thinking:
Include fresh minds in your brainstorming sessions
Just because someone isn’t working with you on a project doesn't mean that they won’t have valuable contributions to a brainstorming session. For instance, I had a brainstorm with one of my teammates to discuss ideas for a client’s video and we invited another colleague to join so that we could get their perspective. It ended up being a fruitful session that resulted in a long list of potential topics that the client is excited about pursuing.
Include people in the brainstorm who you haven’t collaborated with in a while, because they’ll be able to bring fresh ideas that you’re not accustomed to hearing. It’s also fun to catch up with people you don’t typically work with, particularly when office life is mainly virtual!
Go for walks
Sitting in front of a computer in my one-bedroom apartment for hours at a time can sometimes drive me crazy. That’s when I step outside, even if it’s just for twenty minutes, to get some fresh air, wake up my body, and look at something that doesn’t emit blue light. Walking increases oxygen flow through the body and is proven to lead to an energy boost, so lace up and let your coworkers in on the secret so that they can do the same.
Read relevant news
If you’ve depleted all energy sources and aren’t able to create, it’s helpful to read relevant news sources to take in what others are doing in your industry. If you’re interested in marketing-related publications, a few that I like to read are Marketing Land, Marketing Dive, Digiday, and the Wall Street Journal’s CMO Today.
By sharing articles and useful publications with your team, you may find that the innovations of others inspire your own projects. At the very least, it’s helpful to actively rest - meaning that even if you’re not directly working on a project, you’re consuming valuable resources that can benefit your work in the long run.
Freewrite
I thought I’d leave this activity behind in high school English class, but freewriting has been a lifeline for me whenever I’m feeling particularly uninspired. If you’re unfamiliar, freewriting is when you set a timer - I’ll normally do it for 10 minutes - and jot down any and all thoughts that cross your mind without pause, judgment, or editing. Freewriting can help you sort through difficult problems and is a method for you and your team to overcome mental blocks.
Need some extra support to gain a fresh perspective? Contact us to see how we can help.