by Stephanie Ann Ball

We’re so pleased to welcome Stephanie Ann Ball as a featured guest on the blog. Stephanie is an Operatic Soprano, High Performance Specialist, and Author — to name just a few of the hats she wears. Using a unique approach to high performance that can only come from someone who has sung to crowds of over 10,000 with ease and aplomb, Stephanie combines her background in the arts with her adept knowledge of sales, customer service, and administrative support to help her clients achieve extraordinary results when it comes to focus, strategic planning, and goal achievement.

In her new book, Own Your Light: Becoming Your Favorite Self So You Can Bring Your Best to the World, she tells the whole story of how singing opera led her to become a high performance coach. Through her signature strategy, the L.I.G.H.T. Formula, she teaches others how to boost their own time management and productivity skills, all while learning to channel the focus of an elite performer.

In this two-part series, Stephanie shares with us her secret keys to unlocking your productivity. Take it away, Stephanie!

Part 1: Creativity

Here we are, still at home, still dealing with the challenges 2020 had in store for us. A global pandemic, civil unrest in the United States, and political turmoil in an election year hit us all at once, and seem to have no end in sight.  

If you’re anything like me, I seem to have two settings lately: I’m either a total rockstar crushing my task list, or I’m a weepy, stressed out mess who can only manage opening up a bottle of wine and pushing play on a movie. Despite the massive energy swings, things still have to get done, don’t they? So how does one manage to stay productive in a time when getting things finished or moving projects forward just seems so much harder?

My two secret weapons may surprise you because on the surface, they sound a lot like slowing down and doing less.  But, I hope you’ll see how that is exactly the point.

What does creativity have to do with productivity? 

Remember what it was like to be a child, and how many games you could come up with that required nothing but your imagination? My friends and I could entertain ourselves for hours and hours with nothing but a backyard full of nature.  We would create the most elaborate scenes for each other to exist in, and assume the roles of world leaders, astronauts, doctors, scientists, lawyers, you name it — we solved the world’s greatest problems in the space between my sandbox and trees.

When we grow up, something tells us that we need to think logically and critically about problems in order to find the best solution. And yes, while there is absolutely a time and a place for that, many of the greatest innovators and game changers of all time came up with new product ideas simply because they wanted to see their wildest dreams come to life. Here are some ways you can use creativity to enhance your ability to get things done.

Tap into your inner child.

In my book, Own Your Light: Becoming Your Favorite Self So You Can Bring Your Best to the World, I talk about how creativity and play are not just luxuries to take part in when we have extra time, they are necessities that should be incorporated into each day. If my clients are feeling truly stuck on a problem and cannot seem to find a workable solution, I tell them to go and ask a child how they would solve it. Not only do you get the most delightful, and sometimes downright hilarious answers, but sometimes you get some brilliant insights because their little imaginations found the most creative way to handle it.

If you can’t find a child to ask, simply ask yourself what you would have done about this when you were little.  That simple question does something to your brain. It floods you with memories of what you were like as a kid, what kinds of things were fun to you, and what brought you the most pleasure. The moment you start thinking about that you will surprise yourself with how quickly your creativity takes over.  

Make it more fun.

When it comes to getting things done, playfulness is an underused gem. Remember the song from Mary Poppins, “A Spoonful of Sugar” where she teaches the children how to clean their rooms up by turning it into a game?  That is precisely what I mean.  

When you approach your daily task lists with a sense of fun and adventure, two things happen: you enjoy even the most mundane things that much more, and you open yourself up to creative possibilities and solutions to the bigger problems that have been weighing you down. Time will fly, and you’ll be done faster than you can snap your fingers.

Flex your creative muscles.

Take a break or two in your day to do something that sparks you to create something fun. Put your favorite song on and dance it out. Draw a picture or color in a coloring book. Get in the kitchen and whip up something delicious. Find something you enjoy that requires a little imagination to pull off.

When you do this, it benefits you in two ways. First, you get to take a break from all the heavy lifting of getting stuff done, and that’s very good for you (more about that in part two). Second, it allows you to take a step back and focus on something else instead of the problem you’re solving, or the project you are working through.  This makes room for new ideas to come in and fresh energy to flow, making it easier to focus when it’s time to get back to work.

So, tell me: what are your favorite ways to be creative?

Thanks so much for sharing, Stephanie!

Please stay tuned for part two of this series. To learn more about Stephanie, visit her websites: www.stephanieannball.com and www.stephanieannballconsulting.com.

To build creativity into your daily self-care and productivity routine, pre-order a 2021 Balance Bound Planner, while supplies last.