Be Your Own Sounding Board
by Avish Parashar

One of the drawbacks to the solitary lifestyle of the home office worker is the lack of colleagues to brainstorm with. When a problem arises, we are left to our own devices to come up with creative solutions. When we need to create a new design, ad, or project, we have no one to build ideas with.

This seems like a small trade off for all the benefits of working from home. Indeed, few people consider the lack of collaboration when considering switching to a home office. However, the ability to generate new ideas and solutions is very important in any endeavor.

So what do you do? Do you concede and remain willing to limit your creativity? Do you give up and go back to an office environment? I certainly hope not! The key is to find ways of unlocking your own creative flow without the help of others.

Here are a few simple techniques that will allow you to be your own sounding board and bounce ideas of yourself.

1) Do it out loud
Being home alone, it's easy to get used to staying quiet and thinking things out in your head. There is a great power, however, in saying things out loud. Ideas sound different out loud from in your head. Because we are used to staying quiet when alone, by saying your ideas out loud, you can 'fool the brain' into thinking that someone else is providing the idea - instant colleague! Speaking out loud also forces you to articulate the thought, rather than leaving it vague.

2) Write it down
Either in place of or in addition to generating ideas out loud, write down your ideas. Writing once again forces you to articulate your thoughts. The key is to write as fast as possible and just let the ideas flow. Also, keep writing even after you feel you've exhausted your ideas. The first few things you write will probably be ideas you've already come up with. The new stuff will be just beyond that, and that may be where the solution to your problem lies.

Having a record of your thoughts can also pay off down the road. Today's bad idea might be the perfect solution six months later.

3) Get energized
Be it through blood flow to the brain or through the release of endorphins, physical motion unlocks your creative juices. To maximize your brainstorming power, get your body moving! Walk around, stretch, get some exercise, or just engage in some physical activity. As long as it's not so involved that you can't think, any activity will do. Here's where the home office warrior has an advantage over his or her counterparts. You can go outside in the middle of the workday and shoot baskets while working through a problem (one of my favorites), or take some time to get a little exercise.

4) Stay positive
A standard brainstorming rule is to not criticize ideas while they are created. The rule applies whether you are with others or alone. Don't evaluate ideas as they come out. Just let them come, keep saying them out loud, and keep writing them down. Even if an idea seems stupid, impossible, or old news, keep going, because that idea might have the seeds of a newer, more applicable idea in it.

5) Use your imagination
If you work alone, why not make up a co-worker? Ask yourself, 'what would so-and-so do?' I'm sure you've had the experience of thinking about doing something that might not be the best for you, and the voice of reason in your head was not your own. Maybe there was a time where you wanted to get the super-duper large dessert, but then you heard your spouse's voice saying, 'you know that's going straight to your gut!' It's the same thing here, but you should consciously think of someone who would be useful. For example, if you need a creative ad, think of someone that you know who is really creative, and ask yourself what he or she would offer if they were there.

6) Be somebody else
Sometimes, if you approach a problem as if you were someone else, you might find yourself coming up with things you never would have otherwise. Similar to the above suggestion, you should think of someone who would be really useful in your current situation. This time, however, start to imagine that you are that person. Visualize yourself stepping into their body, and take a minute to feel what it feels like to be them. Then start generating ideas. Make sure to move like them, speak like them and act like them. This practice is very similar to actors who maintain their characters off-camera and off-stage to maintain their identity with the character. This technique requires more practice, but once you get the hang of it, it is even more effective than just asking questions.

7) Find a friend
When all solo work fails you, find someone to talk with. You don't need a co-worker. Find a friend or family member who is willing to talk it out with you. Consider starting or joining a group of home workers who meet regularly to brainstorm and help each other out. Meeting former colleagues for lunch is also a way of getting some input from others.

The bottom line is that just because you are working alone, you don't have to be stifled creatively. As American playwright Edward Albee said, "The thing that makes a creative person is to be creative and that is all there is to it." The power is in you; it will just take practice and the right tools to get it out.