If you’re looking for some creative ideas for growing your law practice in 2020, don’t rush out and hire a marketing consultant.

Maybe all you need is an inexpensive, pocket-sized notebook from the dollar store. Carry it with you at all times. Whenever you get a burst of creativity – even in the middle of the night – write the idea down. Don’t worry about whether it’s a great idea, or even a good one. Just capture it in your notebook for later evaluation.

Another tip: move your desk to the other side of your office. The change in perspective might be just the ticket to spark your creativity.

“Creativity is like a muscle,” writes Larry Kim for Inc. “It must be stretched, challenged, and occasionally pushed past its comfort zone.”

When you’re a member of Alta Pro Lawyers RPG, you’re always in the comfort zone. Are you taking advantage of our free webinars, Pro Practice Playbook, Reminger ProLink, Ask the Risk Pro and other benefits? If not, let’s get going!

Here are 7 ways to boost your creativity and take your practice to the next level:

1. Give your brain a creativity workout. Cells that fire together, wire together, say brain scientists. In other words, the more you think and act creatively, the better you get at it. “The key to this is dedicating more time in your day to actively thinking, which usually means unplugging from email, social media and more,” writes Hayden Field in Entrepreneur, quoting Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted: Reclaiming Our Focus in a World of Lost Attention. “That’s the way to unlock ‘the digressive, slow, uncertain parts of ourselves that are key to our creativity.’”
2. Create a vision board. Or a mind map, idea book, post-it wall – whatever will bring your buried nuggets of brilliance out into the clear light of day. These techniques are especially helpful for creative decision-making, project planning and brainstorming.
3. Redecorate your office. “Creativity nudges can come from changes as small as a warmer cup of coffee or different colors in the room,” says Field. “Try switching out some of the items on your desk, orienting yourself differently or doing an overhaul of the bulletin board you sit facing. Take advantage of opportunities to periodically work in different areas of the office, sit with new colleagues or invite people from different departments to lunch.”
4. Do something that turns you on. Maybe your practice is stagnant because you’re bored. Shake things up by digging deeper into your area of expertise, attending a CLE seminar on an entirely new practice area, or sharpening new practice skills.
5. Go for a walk. “The average person sits between 7 and 15 hours every day,” says Kim. “That’s terrible for your health and your mood, which means it can be terrible for your creativity. Stanford research has indicated that walking improves creative thinking. In a follow-up study, HBR found that people who take part in walking meetings are more creative and engaged. Priceline Group CEO Darren Huston, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Western Union Co. CEO Hikmet Ersek, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, and scores of other business leaders and entrepreneurs regularly have walking meetings.”
6. Collaborate. Working with others is a way to learn new tricks and build social connections. “Connecting with a kindred, creative soul can stimulate our imaginations, boost our confidence and give us the support we need to be vulnerable and express ourselves,” writes Therese Borchard in this post. “In his book The Power of Two, Joshua Shenk explains how the synergy of a pair is much greater than the sum of two parts. He studied several famous creative pairs: The Beatles’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Marie and Pierre Curie, who discovered radioactivity, civil rights leaders Ralph David Abernathy and Martin Luther King and comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. ‘The pair is the primary creative unit,’ he writes. ‘Two people can do things together that are better, bolder and more enduring than what they do alone.’”
7. Forget about perfection. Don’t let the fear of imperfection – or failure – prevent you from trying something new in your law practice. Go for it!

What about you? What suggestions do you have for sparking creativity at work?

Want your very own, personal creativity consultant? That’s what you get with Ask the Risk Pro, just one of the benefits of membership in Alta Pro Lawyers RPG. Learn how to join here.