Creativity (and how close it is all the time)

If you're involved in doing something creative—like, say, writing—it's important to keep your mind clear and ideas flowing. If you're involved in doing something that might not seem at first glance to be a creative activity—like, maybe, running a business—it's equally as important.

Back in the '70s, some big corporation* came to the conclusion that executives who were creative got all-around better results from their departments. So the company hired a research firm to come up with a way they could identify creative people during the hiring process. The research people went away and did their thing, then came back with a report. Their results: What makes someone creative is the fact that they believe they are.

So that's the first step. Recognize that you're creative.

The next step is to understand that the biggest part of creativity is just being open to ideas. It's not always a brilliant flash, but sometimes just a notion seeping through the noise in your mind, building slowly and finally—if you let it—getting your attention. To help that happen, there are a few things you can do.

Set aside time to think.
That may seem obvious, but how much time did you schedule today to just think about something? Not do research, not outline solutions, just think. Give yourself time, and you'll be surprised how valuable it becomes. It doesn't have to be a big chunk. Set aside ten minutes a day, and you'll discover yourself making a mental list of things to consider during that time. (Which, incidentally, frees up your mind for the other things you're working on in the meantime. Win, times two.)

Make a note of it
Just as having that few minutes set aside can lead you to collect things you want to give some thought, having a place to make notes or keep track of random thoughts, websites that might be useful, articles of interest to you, etc., will make you tend to notice more things that can help the process. App, notebook & pen, voice recorder—whatever form suits you.

Just make sure you review them at some point. Unless having an idea dump gets rid of the clutter and frees up your thoughts, you have to look at the notes you've made to gain the advantage of making them. That might be another good item to put on your calendar, even for just a few minutes a week.

Leave the office
At least get up from your desk. Take a walk, if that's practical; walking outside is even better. A change of scenery can do wonders.

Most of us have experienced the phenomenon of going into another room and not being able to remember why? There's a neurological reason for that. Going through a door has an effect on your brain, kind of telling it to reset and prepare for something new. During your workday, that's something you can put to good use.

Talk to people
Even if you're not specifically talking about what you're doing, interacting with other people does good things to your brain, not to mention your emotional well being. (That's assuming the people you're interacting with aren't asses. Don't hang around asses, and that's a pretty good rule for life in general.) In fact, even if you don't talk at all, but only listen, you'll still be making a connection and introducing new perspectives into your thought process. It helps!

And making connections is what it's all about. That's just another way to describe the creative process, making connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, facts, procedures—or anything else— and coming up with something new and better.

That's something you can work on!


*I've been referring to this anecdote for decades. I really ought to go look up who was involved. I'll let you know when I find out.