Mastering the pace: Unlock creativity through strategic slowness

In today’s fast-paced, technology enabled world, with its demand for constant productivity, instant gratification and the ever-increasing speed of life in general, many of us find ourselves caught in a cycle of relentless busyness.

I’ve come across some thoughts and articles recently that have got me thinking about whether this environment is negatively affecting the quality of the work we’re producing, compromising the creativity and innovation that are essential to success, particularly in sectors like marketing.

Strategic slowness

One of these articles was an excellent piece from Chloe Foy, Behavioural Scientist and Senior Consultant at McCann Synergy, “Strategic slowness for business success.”

Chloe writes how research leads us to conclude that busyness and a lack a leisure time have become “badges of honour” in society and explores the continuous influence technology has on us to not only live faster, but also on our individual and business’ wellbeing. “Strategic slowness” is a term coined by Stanford University’s Professor Bob Sutton, who named it as his key to success in a LinkedIn post on what leaders thought would be the next big thing for 2024. Strategic slowness is a way to avoid missteps fuelled by hurry, by knowing when to slow down in order to take the RIGHT next steps, and something Professor Sutton believes is key to enduring financial success and healthy workforces.

Don’t get me wrong. I think working hard is a good thing and success often comes from pushing ourselves. I’m also a realist. For example, I’m sure I’m not alone in ignoring someone’s advice to take a day off sick when I’m not feeling great, because the impact of work piling up or letting others down would be more damaging to my mental health. It’s easy to say things like “schedule regular breaks,” but the pressure of deadlines, mounting workloads and limited resources can make this feel impractical. And in the real world, telling your boss you want to do less work is unlikely to land well. However, there’s mounting evidence that the constant drive for efficiency, while ignoring the need for reflection and creativity, is hurting our work more than it helps.

Hurting creativity in marketing

As marketers, this is especially relevant. Creativity and human connection are at the heart of good marketing. Whether we’re designing campaigns or building relationships with customers, it’s crucial to take the time to ensure that our messages resonate, and our targeting is precise. Marketing isn’t just about ticking off boxes; it’s about creating a meaningful connection with the audience. It’s a world where quality can trump quantity.

At the time of writing, B2B Marketing are running a survey “Efficiency vs. innovation: Is your B2B marketing team’s creativity being stifled?”. They’re exploring whether tighter budgets and increasing pressure to deliver more with less resources are pushing marketers into a corner, sacrificing creativity and innovation in the drive towards efficiency. This is clearly an issue that is starting to resonate.

My own experience

I’ve experienced this firsthand. For a while, I was caught in a cycle of overwhelming busyness. I was working hard but in a constant “get shit done” mindset.  Competing demands on my time meant I was rarely able to get myself into the headspace for deep thinking or creativity. I took all my holidays, but never truly switched off and re-charged, knowing work was piling up in my absence. The result, my ideas dried up, my drive waned, and burnout felt like an inevitability. For me personally, I realised I needed to make a career change to free up some capacity. And since I did, I’ve never felt more driven, full of energy and ideas.

I’ve felt for a while that as a society, we’re approaching an inflection point. The relentless pace of modern work, enabled by technology and a culture of 24/07 availability, is taking its toll on our wellbeing and measures need to be taken to readdress the balance between such advances and protecting our health. I don’t believe that this can be fixed with the company-level initiatives we see today – which in some cases are merely box ticking exercises – but instead requires systemic change such as the 4-day week or regulation around after-hours emails. Such change might help future generations create some of the necessary space for recovery and reflection that we have lost.

What can marketers do about it?

But what can we, as marketers, do right now to reclaim our creativity and improve our work? How can we create the headspace needed to think strategically, while still managing the pressures of everyday tasks?

Here are a few practical strategies I’ve found helpful for creating that much-needed space to slow down to let the creativity and your best work back in:

1). Prioritise ruthlessly: Focus on doing less but doing it better. Identify the commercial priorities that will have the biggest impact on growth and focus your time, energy and resources there, letting go of the rest.

2). Squeeze out the value: Make sure you apply the time and energy to a marketing activity that the business investment in it deserves before rushing off to do the next thing. You will get deeper audience engagement and better results. Re-use, tailor and create derivatives of source content that you create and try to wrap multiple initiatives aimed at the same buyers into one. Not only will you save time, but your budget and audience will thank you for it.

3). Offload: Step back and think about where you are really needed and add most value, then focus your time there. If others in your team can do the rest, make the time to delegate where possible. Alternatively, outsourcing to a 3rd party can bring fresh ideas and perspectives.

4). Create Space for learning and networking: Often it’s the first thing to drop if you’re busy but try to schedule learning and networking into your regular routine. Make time to engage with others in your field, attend workshops, or explore new ideas. Creativity flourishes when you give yourself the mental space to learn and be inspired by others.

5). Invest in Coaching and Mentoring: Sometimes we need outside help to push through mental blocks or gain new perspectives. Coaching or mentoring can be invaluable in reigniting creativity and improving performance.

I’m sure you will have your own tips and tricks that help you create space for yourself.

Hard work with purpose

Hard work and busyness are not inherently bad. You can do both and still produce some fantastic work. It’s the relentlessness that makes it dangerous.

One last thought to leave you with. Ask yourself, does the direction that you’re heading in align with who you are and what brings you joy? Ikigai is a Japanese word that means “life purpose.”  It’s a philosophical concept that refers to what gives life meaning, value and joy and is based on the idea that people can find their purpose by exploring the intersection of:

·       Passion: What you love

·       Vocation: What you're good at

·       Mission: What the world needs

·       Profession: What you can be paid for 

If you’re lucky enough to find your true ikigai through your work and your work energizes rather than drains you, that’s when you’ll really be at your best. You may not even notice how busy you are.