Management Tip of the Day: Make creativity a habit

Workers cross London Bridge, with Tower Bridge seen behind, during the morning rush hour in London September 30, 2011.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Not all of us have the creative firepower of a Charles Dickens or a Steve Jobs, but clearing a pathway to innovative thinking can be surprisingly simple, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"Creativity is an essential skill for navigating an increasingly complex world. And yet the path to innovative thinking can be surprisingly simple.

To improve your own ingenuity, practice the following:

1. Reduce stress, but not too much. Being overly relaxed won't get your creative juices flowing. Embrace an in-between emotional state, neither complacent nor stressed out.

2. Get out of the office. Walk to work, take public transportation, wander about to see how real consumers behave and spend their time. If you never take the time to fill your creative well, you'll have nothing to contribute.

3. Let your mind wander. Studies show that day dreaming stimulates a unique mental state. You'll connect dots in new ways when you allow your mind to roam."

- Today's management tip was adapted from "Creativity Lessons from Charles Dickens and Steve Jobs" by Anne Kreamer.

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