Work/Life: How do I stay creative after all these years?

By Todd Werkhoven Published April 25, 2023

On this episode of Work/Life, host Greg Nibler sits down with Ciara Pressler, founder of Pregame, to break down one of the hardest questions for many people to answer: “How do I stay creative?” While there are some new tools to help foster your creativity, Pressler provides some ideas on how to accomplish this important task.

Recommended Videos

Whether your job is specifically creative, or you just need better tools to figure out creative solutions to business problems, Pressler advises writing your ideas down. “Then you’ll have a treasure trove of ideas to use and access for years,” she says. While creativity sometimes comes with a deadline, writing down creative ideas when they occur to you will help you access those ideas when the time comes.

Stepping outside of your comfort zone also influences your creativity, Pressler says. “My No. 1 tip,” Pressler continues, “is to get out of your bubble. Be a beginner at something.” That’s what starts the creative juices flowing, and that’s what helps prime your brain to see new things and connections. Read, listen, see, feel, and touch new things and new experiences, and they will help you see and think differently.

It’s also important to create a space to be creative, Pressler says. Maybe it’s an hour at the whiteboard just formulating ideas, maybe it’s a new location, or maybe it’s doing something with new people.

“When you change something up, that can that help you be creative and see things from a new angle,” Pressler says. Part of getting out of a creative rut means getting out of the bubble we’ve created. Breaking routine and experiencing something new can set your brain off in a creative new direction.

If you’re already in a creative industry, don’t just wait for a muse to arrive, Pressler advises. “You need to show up every single day, and have designated times to work” on your creative projects. The most important thing is just to get things down on the paper; you can edit and fix it later. Setting yourself up for success is an integral part of a smooth and effective creative process.

For past Work/Life segments, go to www.digitaltrends.com/business/

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Todd Werkhoven's work can be read at numerous publications and he co-authored a personal finance book called "Zombie…

Business

Work/Life: Continuing education in a time of recession

worklife episode 18 worklifethumb

On this episode of Work/Life, Ciara Pressler, founder and author of Pregame, talks with Greg Nibler about the pros and cons of continuing education and going back to school during a recession and whether the potential benefits outweigh the monetary investment.

Pressler discusses the different avenues of schooling, from traditional universities to trade schools and online learning. “There are a lot of considerations before you jump back into education,” Pressler says. In this segment, she give tips and tricks for both identifying the goal you have and finding the best path to help you achieve it.

Business

Work/Life: The importance of reaching out for help, and how to do it

worklife episode 17 1174961102456541 n1plnkf7adxqcv02fns2 height640

On this episode of Work/Life, Ciara Pressler, author and founder of Pregame, talks with Greg Nibler about the challenges many of us face when it comes to asking for help in our business and personal lives. She looks into the reasons why you need to make it a point to ask people for advice and for help, whether it be for job recommendations, personal introductions, mentorship, and more.

Americans are raised with the mindset of individualism and making it on our own, but Pressler notes that “now more than ever, we need each other.” With unemployment being incredibly high right now due to the coronavirus, "more people than ever are looking for new jobs and new opportunities,” she says. Even those people who still have their jobs need things, including moral support, through difficult times. “Everything is easier when you have a crew of people or inner circle to talk through problems with.”

Business

Work/Life: The art and balance of effective self-promotion

worklife episode 16 worklife42420

On this episode of Work/Life, Ciara Pressler, founder and author of Pregame, talks with Greg Nibler about the challenges many of us face when it comes to the art of self-promotion. She looks into the reasons why you need to continue to self-promote, and how to do it in a way that isn’t, well, “gross.”

First, she notes, self-promotion is necessary “because no one is going to do it for you. You need to be your own best cheerleader and your best advocate.” Whether it's to expand your own business, or because you are about to reenter a job field that will be packed with other people looking for work, self-promotion is what will make you stand out from other candidates, and is your opportunity to “shout out your own accomplishments,” Pressler says. After all, nobody else will know about your skill sets and talents unless you tell them yourself. Simply put, she says, “you have to advocate for yourself.”