Enhancing Creativity
Posted February 16th, 2015
You are sitting at your desk staring at the computer screen, searching for inspiration. It may be a project you are working on, or responding to a client email, or possibly putting together a presentation.
You are waiting for that epiphany, searching for that spark of creativity to really put some punch into the finished product. Unfortunately, nothing is coming.
When we encounter problems like this, our usual tendency is simply to “try harder.”
We double down on our effort and spend more time wracking our brains to find a solution.
But the latest research is showing that this approach may actually be counterproductive. When we encounter a problem, we often have an initial burst of ideas to solve it. But as we consider the options, none seem quite right. So, we begin to examine the problem more closely. We tend to fixate on a more limited range of possibilities, zeroing in on the trees while missing the forest.
What we need to do, rather, is gain some distance from the problem, allowing our minds more freedom to bring the imagination into play, to allow new ideas into our range of vision.
So, if you are at a creative impasse, one thing you should do it not push harder, but step back.
1. Move to another activity if you find yourself struggling more than 15 minutes.
If you are making good progress on a task, you should continue with it, not switch to something else. But if you find yourself hitting an impasse, it is actually beneficial to jump to another activity.
When you release your concentration on a problem, and move to something else, you are able to widen your perspective, which allows for solutions to emerge. That’s why we often come up with our best ideas while we are in the shower, fixing a meal, or working out. Doing something else allows our subconscious mind to work on the problem. Studies have shown that people who step away from the problem and do something else come up with more solutions than those who continue to grapple with the dilemma.
2. For work that demands creativity, plan to work on it for several shorter periods spaced out over several days rather than all at once.
Again, the same principle is at work here. By having several work periods, you allow time away from the work, opportunities to give your mind time to work on the problem, opportunities to broaden your perspective.
3. Keep a list of things you are working on to consult when you have down time.
When you are driving, or going out to eat, glance at your list and think about the tasks you are working on. An idea may pop into your head while doing something else, again because you are giving your mind some distance from the situation, allowing it freedom to roam.
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