Where do you get inspired? I doubt if it’s sitting at your desk or in front of a screen?

Why should you wish to be more creative?

“Creativity is as critical as literacy in education”
Sir Ken Robinson
One of my favourite TED talks (+ 38 million other people)

I am presently participating in The Artist’s Way programme delivered by Eve Earley, and the first two steps are to take some time each morning to write stuff (anything), which has the great effect of  clearing your head and getting you ready for the day.

The second activity is to have an ‘artist’s date’ each week. This is where you allow yourself the time to do something, or go somewhere that will help stimulate your creative instincts.

Last month I visited the portrait room in the National Art Gallery of Ireland. As a result, I got an idea for an article/blog  (Click here).

Today, I am writing this article in the Central Library Dublin, surrounded by studious people all intent on what they are reading.

When I want some peace and quiet, I also regularly use Bank of Ireland WorkBench spaces.

Note: all of these spaces are free and have good free Wi-Fi if you feel the need to check in every 2 to 3 hours.  I would suggest you put your phone on airplane mode and out of sight whilst you are there.

I have found that the act of writing longhand with a fountain pen or pencil is more fulfilling than using a keyboard.  The slower more relaxed pace also allows you to be more reflective and creative.

My advice to you is put your ideas down on paper while they are fresh in your mind. You can dictate or type into your computer later. Leave a space / time before commencing editing, or, better still, have someone else do this for you.

All great writers have editors who invariably reduce down the content, to improve the narrative.

Here are some tips picked up over the years having thought about writing articles/blogs but managed to avoid doing so, using various excuses.

• Guess and Go
  The number one excuse for me and lots of people is that they cannot spell. This for me was overcome with advice from Eve Earley who told me that her children, who were educated in America, received the advice to Guess and Go.  If they did not know how to spell a word they were told to have a guess but keep on writing.
  How I wish I got that advice from my teachers.

• Get your thoughts down on paper is another piece of advice I received from a writer friend of mine. Tell yourself it’s only a first draft and can be changed or corrected
• All great writers give credit to their editors. Find yourself a friend or colleague who is supportive of your writing, not critical of your output.

Take my advice and get started. There is nothing as fulfilling as being creative and capturing your thoughts on paper. It will also enhance your career and business, just as it has mine.

Please SHARE with your friends and colleagues and read my previous publications for advice on how to be more creative.