What Hinders Creativity in Programming?

Creativity is one of the most significant factors in the success of any business, including programming. This feature is like the wings to fly that release individual from time and space constraints and make it possible to roam in a higher space.

Although humans are born, grow old, and then die, organizations can maintain their vitality and maturity despite getting old. To do this, they must put creativity and innovation as a principal on their agenda.

It does not matter what the organization is; its survival depends on its members’ performance, and their creativity ensures the organization’s growth and development.

In this article, we discuss the barriers to creativity in programming. Obstacles that by removing them, there will be more creative programmers and consequently more successful companies.

Creativity vs. innovation

Creativity is observing and understanding the world around us in a different way. This capability helps us find hidden patterns in phenomena, situations, and behaviors to present new solutions and act accordingly. Creativity is one of the essential human abilities that allow him to make the impossible possible.

However, creativity alone cannot lead to success. Success is the result of innovation, and creativity is a tool for achieving it.

Innovation is the expansion of creativity and implementation of new or improved ideas. All technologies, inventions, arts, and everything that is man-made are innovations that manifest humans’ creativity.

Although there are subtle differences in the definition of creativity and innovation, it should be said that if you have an idea and do not implement it, you are a dreamer, not a creative programmer or manager!

A successful programmer is not a typist but an artist!

Creativity is what sets a programmer apart from a typist! If you are not creative in writing code, what you do is just typing memorized code that someone else’s has created. You need to find new ways to write your codes or optimize them. In general, creativity in programming means discovering new solutions to achieve an optimal and efficient result.

With this explanation, we can say that the codes of a creative programmer are similar to a work of art, which, although similar in appearance to other works, has some differences that make it an identity.

There is never a single way to get results in the programming process! So you have the role of the creator of your programming land, who innovates and creates with freedom of action.

Creativity barriers in programming

Obstacles to creativity are generally divided into three categories: individual, social, and organizational, which in the field of programming, individual and administrative barriers play a more significant role. Some of the most important of these barriers are:

Over-reliance on logic: Those (companies or individuals) who rely too much on rational thinking often have difficulty being creative. Not everything can be achieved by reasoning. When there is still no logical reason for a new phenomenon, a spark, feeling, or dream may make it real. Although coding is an analytical task, daydreaming can open up new avenues to do it.

Stress: Some barriers to creativity and innovation are rooted in our bodies. You must have noticed that on days you are tired or sick, you are less creative. Fatigue and illness are among the physiological stresses. Anxiety, worry, and tension play a similar role in reducing creativity.

Fear of failure: No significant success is achieved without loss . If you are afraid of failure, you will train your programmers to be cautious and even timid. This will damage your company’s reputation in the long run. Failure is inevitable for everyone; what matters is its achievement.

Time constraint: getting too involved in force majeure projects make the programmers unable to write code creatively. In this situation, in addition to increasing stress, they will not have enough time to put new thoughts into action.

So do not overdo whether as a freelance programmer or as a team manager.

Short-term planning: Short-term planning usually focuses on small successes that require more speed and more effort. There is no room for employee creativity in these types of goals.

Decentralization: As mentioned, creativity requires calm. A mind that can not concentrate may not be creative.

Decentralization: Decentralization has several reasons. Some of them are due to physical difficulties, and some are due to mental conditions or the environment. Illness, stress, anxiety, and time limitation are all factors that interfere with concentration.
Organizational Barriers: One of the most critical factors that affect the employees’ creativity in the workplace is organizational policies. Managers who allow their employees to fail and try new methods provide the necessary grounds for individual creativity essential to build and survive a creative organization.