Tapping into your innate creativity requires making changes to what you do at work. You need to break your most destructive, focus-killing habits, such as spending a large portion of your day (or weekend) on email or giving in to persistent distractions. To start, give yourself time to quietly think and reflect. Practicing mindfulness can be extremely helpful for this because it aids cognitive functioning. The other thing to work on is managing stress about your deficiencies and failures. This may be most difficult for achievement-oriented business people, but no one can possibly be creative without failing — a lot. Finally, focus on what makes you happy at work. The positive emotions you feel when you are connected to your personal and organizational purpose will help you stay grounded and creative, even when things are tough.
