9 Ways to Make Your Career More Creative - When I Grow Up

9 Ways to Make Your Career More Creative - When I Grow Up Photo taken by Casey Cosley. More details in point 8 below! I know first-hand what its like to be a creative person in a corporate environment. For two years and seven months, I stifled my style, talents and personality to fit in in the finance world. I remember so clearly getting rid of all the business casual attire I had in the days after I became a Woman of the World (aka full-time entrepreneur). It felt so freeing to donate my interview suit, the drab button downs, the tweed pants, and the sensible shoes that I would never choose to wear. But even in the most corporate of environments, you can make your career more creative. Here are 9 ways to get there: 1. Start each day with a passion project.  Im already breaking the rules of the post with Point 1, but for serious, make the time for your creative work before you walk into the office. Bring your sketchbook on the train and do some doodling, or write a Morning Page (not even 3!) before you hop in the shower. Your workday will automatically feel more creative because youve already flexed that muscle and did your work. 2. Leave your desk for your lunch break!  For the love of all thats holy,  STOP working through lunch and/or eating lunch at your desk. Of course, youd ideally use your lunch hour for your creative work write a blog post! take some photos! design something you need! read a book! but if you just get away from your goddamn desk, its a win and your day will feel much more of your own. 3. Take visual notes at your meetings. Do you know theres such a thing as a graphic facilitator? You can learn more about it in my interview with Julie Stuart, but even if you dont wanna do it as a career, it can be a great way to take notes at work! You can learn about Sketch Noting by  going through the very many links housed here. 4. Brainstorm ways to bring your particular creative talents into your company. Know theres a holiday party invite that gets passed around the office? Offer to shoot a video for it! Mastered the art of visual notetaking? Offer to do it for the annual company meeting! Love storytelling? Offer to interview your colleagues  and compile it for a history book on the company. Want to take more photos? Offer to do headshots for everyone in the office for the companys website. You get my drift. 5. Make your office space your home. You obviously need to decorate your cubicle or office in a professional manner, but dont be afraid to let your personality shine through.  Let some cute office accessories and your own favorite quotes, mantras or images add some cheer to your day. Word Swag is an amazeballs (and addicting!) way to make em yourself! 6. Get your hands on The Artist in the Office and do what Summer says. Its not in print any more, but you can find a used (and cheap!) copy via Amazon here. While you wait for it to arrive, you can watch/listen to my interview with Summer. Summer for President! 7. Dress more like yourself. If its possible in your office, take advantage of a more casual environment and put the pant suits away if thats what you dont usually wear. Notice how much of your wardrobe are clothes you wear just for work but dont touch on your own time. Get rid of the clothes that fit that description as much as you can and try to replace them with your own style. Sure, you might still need to wear suits for work, but try to find the cut, colors and fit that feel best on you. 8. Give yourself a creative project to work on. After the first day of teaching my most recent CreativeLive class,  Ditch Your Day Job,  the Coordinating Producer asked to borrow my face and brought me outside with his camera. I asked if this was something for CreativeLive to use a teacher headshot, perhaps? but he responded that it was his own personal project. #CaseyCosley365  is where he posts a portrait he took that day of a person he hasnt photographed before, and it get uploaded to Instagram at 10pm Pacific each night. The pic you see above is the result of that five minute shoot! 9. Keep your eyes open for creative opportunities as you go about your day.  The first step of making your career more creative is to be aware that there are ways to make your career more creative. If youre looking for opportunities and being vocal about it I promise you that theyll come! Whatever you do, dont hide your creative streak and talents from your job! As long as it doesnt negatively affect your work, your manager(s) and colleagues will appreciate your talents and would most likely be happy to support it. Remember, they benefit, too both directly (from point #4) and indirectly (in your happiness and attitude)! Two more spots remain to work with me one-on-one starting next month. Once theyre snagged, Ill be booked through the fall AND will be raising my rates. Eek!