All Data Analysts Need Creativity

Despite our work being technical, creativity is a crucial skill we data analysts need to survive.

Not all of your problems have one-size fits all answers.
Not all of your problems are straightforward.
Not all of your problems are cookie-cutter.

When facing a new problem no one on your team has solved before, you need to test a combo of creative “problem-solving approaches” to reach an answer fast and efficiently.

A lot of my best work comes from creative, out-of-the-box thinking.

So, here’s what I do daily to boost my data creativity:

1. Reading books

(You’ve heard this one before, haven’t you?)

I talk about reading a lot because it’s my favorite way to entertain myself, improve my problem-solving skills, and now, boost my creativity.

A mix of fiction and nonfiction stimulates my brain the most.

And when it comes to nonfiction, I stay away from data books. Surprising coming from this data dork, huh? The reason I do this is so that I can broaden my knowledge and focus on more than just the data world.

2. Being observant

I’m a big fan of storytelling, and I know that interesting stories are all around us. But most people are too glued to their phones or too lost in their thought to see them.

Whenever I’m out of the house, my fingers are always ready to whip out my phone and jot down a cool story idea. Being observant helps me make connections between data and life.

It helps me find great analogies and metaphors to explain data problems coherently.

3. Talking to people

Creativity ain’t a one way road.

Sitting in front of a blank SQL script, in the dark, in complete silence isn’t gonna make great ideas come to you. Yeah, sometimes it might, but not all the time.

That’s why I love talking to people.

You hear their stories. You hear their ideas.

And I’m telling you, a great conversation (whether about data or not) will leave your creative juices stimulating more than ever. Don’t ask me the science behind it, but that’s how I feel after a conversation.

So, maybe you’ll feel it too.

4. Having cool hobbies

Do cool and fun things outside of data. With how much I talk about data, you may think I’m obsessed and have a “Sorry, data only” sign on my front door.

But I do cool things outside of work too.

One of my favorite hobbies is going to the gym. Working out my muscles jumpstarts my creativity and many of my greatest ideas have come to me while running, lifting weights, or doing pushups.

Having cool hobbies focuses the mind away from work and let’s your creativity flourish in the background.

5. Listening to great podcasts

Now I’m not talking about ones filled with nonsense talk, gossip, and inarticulate people.

The best podcasts are the ones where you listen to great thinkers and great writers converse.

Great podcasts have great thinkers and great writers speaking.

Those are the ones that leave me thriving with creativity after listening. Few people are truly great thinkers, and that’s something I envy.

So, listen to podcasts, but only the great ones.