Summer has arrived and with the beautiful weather comes a heightened sense of despair when spending sunny days cooped up inside the office. But don’t worry – the summer season is a great way to catalyze your creativity and to get inspiration from some new sources. Grab your sunglasses and take your work outside as you dive into summer with enhanced creativity!

Be an eternal observer

It’s easy to forget that even in our professional careers, we are always a student first and foremost. Especially as marketers, our jobs revolve around understanding the preferences, dislikes, and personalities of the people surrounding us – whether they’re our target market or our competitors. Take a seat at a park bench or take a ride on the public transit with the sole intention of observing the people around you. What are they talking about? What makes them laugh? Which social media platform are they most engaged with? What type of personality do they have? The goal is simply to observe and listen – no judgment, no presumption – just a simple and open-minded initiative to understand those around you. You’ll be surprised by the inspiration you gather simply from observing others.

New season, new workspace

Don’t be afraid to change up your workspace and to spend some time at a nearby coffee shop or park bench. Especially if you’re independently working on a new campaign or coming up with new initiatives, break away from routine thoughts by working in a new environment. By immersing yourself in a different space, you’ll be exposed to new people, images, and ideas — all of which will revitalize your energy level and spark new perspectives. You’ll also notice that during the summer months, people are generally happier and more energetic so it’s easy to feed off the energy level of those around you when you’re searching for creativity. During business hours, coffee shops in city centers are filled with working professionals so grab a latte and get inspired around like-minded individuals.

Break It Up

As we’ve all experienced, there’s no magic solution for sparking creativity. Sometimes you simply feel stuck, defeated, or frustrated. During these times, the best solution is to take a short break and do something different. Take a brisk walk or go outside and listen to some music. If you’re feeling frustrated, put on a smile and observe the powers of synthetic happiness. Researchers have found that the mere act of smiling stimulates dopamine and tricks your brain into thinking you’re happy. Seriously – try this the next time that you’re frustrated and you’ll immediately notice how quickly your mood improves. New mentality – fresh creativity.

About the Author

After graduating from the HBA program at the Richard Ivey School of Business, Aaliyah launched her career as Marketing Coordinator at Uberflip! Prior to her HBA, Aaliyah also completed a Bachelor in English at Western University.

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