Being Creative is Not Easy – We look to Ayurveda
Being “creative” is not always easy. This is true even for the most talented and contemporary marketing agencies. Despite having rooms filled with wildly imaginative, thoughtful, forward-thinking individuals, it can be difficult to constantly come up with innovative and spirited ideas. The creative process is like a river; turbulent to navigate and it doesn’t always flow as effortlessly as we’d like it to. But when it does flow easily and freely, it carries us to that magical moment of creative breakthrough. The moment that breathes new life into an idea and energy into a team of thoughtfuls. This creative quantum leap provides the propulsion that’s needed to keep the genius minds coming back for more, continually chasing the creative dragon, so to speak.
At Socialike, we prioritize supporting our team in a way that bolsters their creativity and allows them to work as their most authentic selves. To do this, we look to Ayurveda. Often translated as the “science of life,” there is another translation for Ayurveda that empowers our business strategy and helps define our vision as a contemporary social media agency: The “knowledge of longevity.” Longevity. It’s what we strive for. For ourselves, our clients, and the brands they worked so lovingly and painstakingly hard to create. After all, isn’t it the goal of every business to stick around? To keep people talking, watching, interested? Applying the philosophy and principles of Ayurveda to our team operations and our marketing strategies, we can provide our clients with the dynamic and inventive media representation they need for the longevity of their brand. This is the number one goal of Socialike, and we’re achieving it every day with the help of the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda.
How We Integrate Ayurveda Into Our Business Strategy
While the breadth of Ayurveda is deep and its lessons seemingly endless, there are few foundational standards that we incorporate into the regular work routine at Socialike for optimal creativity, productivity, and continuity.
1. Daily Workflow
Two important principles of Ayurveda are rhythm and routine. According to Ayurveda, there are natural rhythms that exist in the world, such as circadian rhythms and the progression of sunlight throughout the day. It is from these rhythms that we should get our cues for when and how to do our work as there are favorable times of day to perform certain tasks, work more intently, or rest and open the mind. By following these natural rhythms, we know when to work on specific assignments for enhanced focus and clarity of thought and when to loosen up and let the creativity flow more freely. Embracing this daily workflow provides our team with a predictable routine, and in Ayurveda, routine is essential for maintaining mental calm, peace, and well-being. At Socialike, our daily workflow schedule looks something like this:
Before 10am:
Teammates gear up for the day in whatever way works best for them. Waking at their leisure and performing their own morning rituals, this is the time when they can plan, prep, and energize for the day ahead.
10am-2pm:
The best time of day for intense focus and deep thinking, it is during this time that our team gets to work and dives in hard. Completing tasks, checking off lists, and strategizing with clear and critical thinking.
2-6pm:
This light and airy time of day is best for creative thinking, so it’s the time when teammates connect with each other, hold brainstorming sessions, collaborate on creative ideas, and foster community through games and group activities.
We have found tremendous success with this workflow at Socialike. It has elevated creativity, improved team communication, and increased productivity while decreasing some of the common stressors people experience on a typical 9-5 schedule.
2. Balance Teams in Personality and Strengths
This quote comes from an article in the Economic Times, written by Navi Radjou, Executive Director of the Centre for India & Global Business at Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge, and Dr. Prasad Kaipa, a CEO Coach and senior research fellow at the Centre for Leadership, Innovation, and Change at the Indian School of Business. It illustrates another way we are using Ayurveda to maintain a successful, innovative, and creative team at Socialike. We know each teammate has their own energetic makeup, referred to in Ayurveda as a Dosha, which dictates their individual personality traits and strengths. For instance, some people (based on their dosha type) might be strong in imagination and unbridled creative ideas. In contrast, others excel in analytical thinking and problem solving, yet others will respond well to limits and timelines. By recognizing different strengths in different individuals, we can create well-rounded teams and assign projects in a way that fulfills another core principle of Ayurveda; balance. Balance is key to well-being and longevity. Ensuring that we pair teammates with balanced dosha types for certain tasks lets us work optimally, both in creativity and productivity. With each member bringing a positive core strength to the team, we can tackle projects and assignments with vigor and ingenuity while maintaining efficiency and adapting to the individual needs of each client and brand.
3. Foster Authenticity
Encouraging our team members to find individualized routines that promote their creativity is a large part of how we employ Ayurveda at Socialike. Self-discovery and authentic expression are key principles of Ayurvedic science that improve mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The Sanskrit term for this is Sattva. Ayurvedic expert Dr. Manas S. Kshirsagar describes Sattva as “the natural mind state of well-being that allows one to feel light, productive, and balanced.” By encouraging Sattva on an individual level, we reduce stress and develop workplace fulfillment.
However, we understand that everyone is different. What works for one individual may not always work for another. So, while we ask our teammates to apply the principles of Ayurveda to their working lives, we also know it’s important to be flexible in how we employ it as a means of personal self-discovery. To achieve this we simply have continuous discussions, provide access to information, and make suggestions on how team members can reach their full wellness potential, while always remaining flexible to their needs for obtaining the best possible work/life balance. We always encourage our staff to do what feels best to them so that they can give their best to their work. Here are a few other ways in which we promote wellness at Socialike and encourage authenticity for our team members:
- 100% reimbursement on any books they want to read
- Matching charitable donations they make
- Operate on a four day work week where on Fridays the team has the ability to work on themself – embracing their own individual passions
- Coming up with new, fun ways to spark creativity such as dream journaling or writing prompts
We also hold meetings and brainstorming sessions where all team members can offer their ideas and input on how to improve creativity and performance through Ayurvedic principles. One of the wonderful things about Ayurveda is that it is multi-faceted and no one approach is more significant than another in boosting the operational fitness of a company.
As you can see, there are many ways in which Ayurveda improves the corporate nature of Socialike and helps us to be one of the most conscious, relevant, cutting-edge, and creative media marketing agencies of our time. The benefits of interweaving Ayurveda with our business and corporate culture are seen repeatedly by our clients through the success and longevity of their brands. We will continue to look to Ayurveda to enhance our capacity for creativity and ingenuity in the ever-changing, ever-growing social media marketing domain.
