How We Keep Our Creative Juices Flowing At Akili Network!

Have you ever been in a situation at work where you were constantly demotivated and uninspired to get anything done? Did it get to a point where work began to feel boring and mundane, whereby exciting activities like content creation that gave you joy before now just felt meh! And tasks that would normally take you a few minutes to complete were being dragged on for days? Well, my friend, that is a creative rut. And before you panic…it’s normal. We all go through periods of heightened productivity and motivation and then slowly, periods where we have absolutely zero will to get anything done, creep in. 

So, what do we at Akili Network do to ignite our creative spark? Read on to find out.

1. Brainstorms: An Opportunity to go crazy with ideas!
We love a good brainstorm! This could be departmental or full-house and it’s always amazing to see how different people process the same information so uniquely. 

Everyone is allowed to go crazy with their ideas, build up on other people’s ideas and get silly with it. Which in turn promotes problem solving, team building, creative and critical thinking and most importantly an appreciation for all the team members and what they bring to channel. 

One tip to a successful brainstorm is to share the agenda a day or two before the actual brainstorm. This gives everyone a chance to do some research and come in prepared with their points. 

2. Change of Scenery Helps Break Monotony
There is absolutely no fun in sitting at the same desk 8hours a day, 5 days a week! Eventually, boredom kicks in, and creativity walks out. 

Fortunately, at Akili Network our employees have the choice to work from home or physically report to the office. And even when at the office, the Nairobi Garage have such a beautiful space that enables us to work from anywhere within the space. And may we just say, they have done a fantastic job with décor. Truly inspired. 

3. Unconventional Work Rituals and Traditions.
 The Marketing Department has a Book Club. Yupp! They are cool peeps like that! Every week, the team gets to select, read and review a children’s book, which comes in quite handy when creating content for our children’s TV channel, Akili Kids!

It’s also a fun and educative way of hyping up morning scrum! (Just saying)

Of course, rituals and traditions ought to have guidelines. Ours are:

1. Books selected have to be children’s books, 
2. They most definitely have to be short and finally,
3. Each page needs to have pictures! Just to ensure that those who are not big fans of reading are taken into consideration

4. Any Reason for Cake!
As you have probably gathered by now, we are a fun bunch and are always looking for an excuse to eat some cake and dance while at it! 
Our amazing Human Resource Manager ensures that we get to celebrate everyone’s birthday as well as commemorate special days like International Day of Women. 

This is a great way to catch up with one another and also celebrate each other’s milestones. Such occasions make one feel valued and appreciated and of course the end result is a boost in motivation and increased productivity!

5. Rest
Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel- Eleanor Brownn

1. The most important part of being a creative is knowing when to take a break! This could look like:
2.  Ensuring that you are not working during your lunch break
3.  Clocking out of work when it’s time to do so especially if working from home.  It’s very easy to find yourself working late into the night. 
4. Setting aside time to rest after a long day at work. Go jogging, try baking, knock yourself out.

At Akili Network we enjoy having lunch together. This is a great way to catch up as well as bounce ideas off of each other.

How about you? How do you do it at your work place?