As marketers, one of the things that we get asked to do on a near-daily basis is be creative on demand.

You know how it goes.

Someone has a half-baked idea about something, and then they turn to you, the “creative” person with the “creative” job, and say something along the lines of, “Hey, you can figure this out, right? Go be creative. I need it tomorrow.”

Awesome.

You are not alone in this craziness! It’s a universal challenge without a great solution — but one that we are constantly learning to better manage. Here are our go-to strategies:

1. Seek out inspiration all the time. You know the demands will come, so you might as well stock up ideas in advance.
2. Prioritize. Is this a big question that requires a big answer (and therefore big brain space)? Or can you spend 12 minutes on it and call it a day?
3. Anticipate. Who on your team asks for the most deliverables with the least reasonable deadlines? Can you guess what they might ask for next? Start ideating (or, even better, asking about it) now so that you’re ready when the task hits your desk.
4. Push back. When it’s a really impossible demand, say no. Or at least ask for more time. Creativity requires brain space, and sometimes you have to fight for that margin.

Bring your own ideas to the table. If you have a great idea, preempt the brainstorming madness by presenting it first. We’ve found it super useful to write (or draw or design) it out as a fully-fledged concept — leaving less room for wild goose chase departures and idea bombs that explode something that’s already almost ready to go.
What would you add to the list? How have you learned to be creative on demand? And how do you maintain the space you need to think creatively?

One of our goals for July is to take more breaks.

It seems almost counterintuitive. We’re still working from home (and likely will be for a LONG time). Our beds are feet (and in some cases, inches) away at all times. Distractions abound (laundry! books! roommates!).

And yet we find ourselves being sucked into the work vortex more than ever.

Maybe it’s because the line between work and play has gotten so blurry. Or maybe it’s because there is simply a LOT to do. But either way, we’re having to be intentional about pulling our eyes away from the computer — both at the end of the day, and, perhaps even more critically, throughout the day.

All-day screen time can’t be good for our eyes (or our brains), right?

So that’s our new goal. Frequent, regular breaks.

We challenge you to try it, too. Walk a lap of your apartment. Look out the window. Go outside. Power nap. Think.

Our brains deserve it. You deserve it.

It’s not new information that the best artists steal, but…the best artists steal.

In the digital age, we have access to so much beauty and creativity at our fingertips. Who is doing cool things? Why does their work intrigue you? What are the patterns you are noticing in the campaigns/images/words/blogs/websites you love?

And, most importantly, how can you do something similar?

This isn’t about plagiarism, it’s about inspiration. And there’s a reason best practices become best practices — because people use them and they work.

So we want to hear from you! What is one campaign, email, website, or document that really grabbed your attention recently? And what did you love about it?

Our team has spent a lot of time thinking about the future of work.

What if this remote office environment we’ve all learned to navigate over the past few months isn’t a fad? What if working from home is permanent?

For people in knowledge economy roles, this very well may be the case. We’re collectively seeing increases in productivity, improvements in quality of life (thanks, no commuting!), decreases in costs of office management and real estate, and the consistent truth that people are able to do their jobs from anywhere.

So now what?

What do we do with this reality? How do we make our teams as efficient, effective, and happy as possible — especially if we aren’t seeing each other face to face as often? How do we still have fun together? And how do we foster collaboration digitally?

Have ideas on how to make virtual work better? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you!

We’re just beginning to grapple with what this means for our future — and we invite you to think seriously about it, too. Because working from home just might just be our new normal.

When we’re in the weeds on projects and our to-do lists are many miles long, we lose the time and energy to do what is most important for us to do great work: think.

Deep, meandering, creative thought is at the core of who we are — and absolutely central to our careers. But as is the case for everyone, it so often gets pushed to the side in favor of meetings and tasks (and, let’s be honest, scrolling our phones).

We’re not even talking deep thought about work. We’re talking thinking in general. When was the last time you just thought about something for awhile? Asked questions for the sake of asking questions? Went down a thought rabbit hole?

Our favorite people are the curious ones. The ones who ask “what if?” and wonder what might be.

So this week, join us as we fight for time to think creatively. And send us a note to let us know what you’re curious about!

(On our list at the moment: the future of work in the wake of the pandemic, home design for virtual employees, and how to address the prison industrial complex.)