Working from home on my own business has a number of advantages. One is that the time and money spent on a daily commute can be used more effectively – especially as I can start work about 10 minutes after waking up! It also means I can spend more time with my family, which means clients get the work of a happier, more motivated person. But not only that, they also get more creativity…
I’ve read a fair bit on how to encourage creativity, attended a few courses, and have some friends and contacts who run extremely effective courses designed to help kickstart creativity in the workplace. And I’ve picked up some valuable lessons and advice. But probably all of that is roughly equivalent to spending a bit of time with my son each day!
Yesterday I took less than a handful of breaks from work, and yet in that time I became a cat, the Gruffalo, and invented a marketing campaign to make bathtime attractive to a toddler. And spent a bit of time in the evening deconstructing why certain children’s stories work far better than others for both toddlers and adults. (I’d currently recommend Horton Hears a Who, and Tatty Ratty)
And all without having to pay or travel to a course somewhere to get some new insight into effective writing and content techniques, plus a reminder in conveying the benefits (You get to play with your ducks and splash your mummy), rather than the features (You’ll be clean).
If you don’t happen to have a handy toddler, then I highly recommend one as a creativity generator (Before obtaining one of your own, I’d suggest a testing with family or friends – family parties are a particularly good opportunity). And if you’re a client, I’ll throw in an afternoon of building blocks and trainsets for free!