Making Something New When Every Day‘s The Same – Employee Experience

Happy Groundhog Day! Wait, hasn’t it been Groundhog Day for the last 323 days? When every waking hour feels exactly the same, it can be difficult to stay creative. Luckily for you, we’ve done the research and found ways to keep things fresh for all those times when you feel like you’ve been living in a hole, unshowered, eating that same banana bread for the past week while rewatching the thing you’re streaming for the sixth time. Enjoy!

Check out new trends.

Rather than working in the same “wash, rinse, repeat” cycle, research recent trends on user behavior, technology, tools and more. Senior Social Media Strategist Ashley Heinonen loves looking at Pinterest’s reports on what’s trending, as well as Later’s blog for the latest updates to social media. It also provides her with inspiration on ways to infuse trends and platform updates into social content.

Look to other businesses. (But not to the competition.)

Hear us out: It’s great to know what your competition is doing, but to really get out of your bubble, check out what’s happening with companies in different industries. Even though their products or services aren’t the same, you could potentially apply some of their thinking to your client. For example, Away and Warby Parker are both direct-to-consumer businesses that value transparency, work to simplify the shopping experience and provide a modern, affordable product that’s high in quality. Luggage and glasses are totally different, but both businesses could benefit from each other’s learnings.

Brainstorm. You know, with others.

In the era of working from home, it’s become all too easy to work in silos. But it’s amazing how many more (and how many better) ideas you can come up with when you collaborate with a coworker or two. Here at Liquid Agency, we’re fans of using Miro boards for a more structured brainstorming process, but a Zoom call works, too.

Get in the Club(house).

Designer Vivian Johnston joined Clubhouse to listen to pros share their expertise on a variety of topics. “Just listening to them inspires and gives me new ideas and perspectives,” explains Vivian. Not familiar with Clubhouse? It’s the new kid in social media and is basically a voice-only social media app that currently requires an invitation to join. Learn more about Clubhouse here.

Scroll and diversify your feed.

Yes, you read that right. For Art Director Madeline Miller, scrolling Instagram and Pinterest is a soothing way to spark creative thinking. Especially when you follow hashtags that are particularly relevant. Creative Resource Manager Raechel Wolfe and Strategy Director Nathan Sundberg have also updated their social accounts to follow people and brands outside their circle to stay inspired and informed. For Raechel, “actively trying to break my algorithm and expand my feed to people I would never naturally come across really helps expose me to so much of what’s going on, while also reaffirming how much we all have in common.”

Switch up your routine.

Every day feels the same because, well, it probably is. Instead of waking up, making coffee, checking emails and getting right to work, try something new. Maybe wake up and do a mini yoga routine first. Or instead of rewatching The Office at night, check out that documentary you keep putting off watching. Incorporating a few small changes can be incredibly helpful for seeing things from a new perspective and getting out of a creative rut.

Indulge your nerdy side.

Culture Strategist Ally Marie Fisher is a big fan of listening to the Hidden Brain podcast. She says, “Learning about human behaviors and why we do and think the way we do is endlessly interesting and inspiring for me, and it helps me get into the headspace I need to be creative about client work, not to mention my own life.” Give yourself space to reset from anxieties. Associate Creative Director Robb Milne reads comics, works on Rubik’s Cube–style puzzles, listens to music and goes on walks to allow for fresh and even abstract thinking. Robb’s advice? “Do a number of things to relax or challenge your brain. Give it a workout. Give it inspiration. Give it a break. Open it up. That’s how I keep the creativity flowing.”