Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, remote working has become a norm. Many companies switched to working from home. This was a great solution at that time but even after moving towards the endemic, companies around the world have adopted the remote working culture.
Working remotely has worked out in the favor of many as it helps save a lot of commute time and gives employees a better work life balance. However, many have complained that online meetings can be bad for their creativity and general brainstorming capabilities.
To ensure that one is able to stay creative despite working online, here are a few solutions to consider:
- Build Mind Maps Together
During an online meeting, it's easy for anyone to lose focus and their ability to remain creative. Understanding and identifying the problem is the first step towards solving it, which is why building mind maps could be a great way to remain creative.
Creativity flows when people with intellectual and innovative minds come together. Having an activity which involves everyone creating a mindmap and sharing their ideas can help you shortlist the best way to work on a task.
It is also a method of encouraging everyone and keeping them engaged. Studies show that higher engagement can eventually lead to improved creativity and productivity as well.
- Introduce Team Building Activities
Not all team building activities have to be boring. Coming up with activities which help the team bond together can lead to working with a more creative mindset. These activities can trigger interesting thoughts and even spark up topics to discuss.
Humans tend to be more open about sharing their innovative ideas when they feel comfortable in the presence of the people around them. Which is why, it's necessary to ensure that a team is able to bond better with each other.
A few of these activities can include an online scavenger hunt, personality tests or even online board games. The idea is to bring a team together and make them feel safe enough to share any kind of raw creative ideas without a fear of being judged.
- Have Discussion Periods
Discussing before beginning any kind of project has proven to be very important. To make sure that your creative juices are flowing, one must put their brain in a vigorous thinking process. Talking and discussing ideas together can be a great way to fuel your mind.
During online meetings, there are often instances where you can hit an awkward silence phase. This not only decreases efficiency but also blocks out creative ideas. To keep things moving, having a slightly casual discussion period can help immensely.
- Have Pre Meeting Preparations
Before a meeting begins, doing a research or preparation session can keep your mind fresh and attentive. This quick jotting down of agendas before beginning can help boost your creativity. Lack of information or the feeling of not fitting in a place can be a major reason behind decreased creativity.
In addition to that, creating a pre-meeting document which contains a few ideas by the whole team can keep things fresh as well. This can give everyone a path to follow and eventually get the hang of how to move forward with updated ideas as well.
- Include a Q&A Sessions
Asking questions and responding actively can lead to more ideas. It can also help team members in clearing their doubts about anything which can later become a hindrance. Being creative is essential but maintaining efficiency is important as well.
A session which involves questions and answers can keep everyone engaged, most engaging activities do result in further creative ideas too. Incorporating fun graphics and videos which raise more questions or discussions can be a way to strengthen this session further.
Summary
Functioning a team remotely and keeping them engaged can be difficult but finding different ways to have the momentum going can prove to be a great decision in the long term.
Online meetings can get hectic but as long as the team is willing to switch things up and participate actively, hiccups can be avoided easily. The environment we work in affects our mood and hence our creativity majorly, this is why investing in a better working space can prove to be worth it.
Iconic Workspaces is now given an option to work in a modern and innovative co-working space which is designed for the ones working remotely. Do check it out for more information and details.
