Download - 5 Unconventional Ways to Be Creative
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WAYS TO BE CREATIVEUNCONVENTIONAL5
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Our brains are lazy.It has been scientifically proven.
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Our brains frequently use connections or neural pathways created by past experience to
decipher the world around us.
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If we just let them be, our brains would always
choose the most energy efficient path.
MIT senior lecturer Tara Swart
http://www.fastcompany.com/3045424/work-smart/what-it-takes-to-change-your-brains-patterns-after-age25
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This means that our brains arent great at being creative.
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Creativity is all about making new connections.
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We have to do things that are counter-intuitive in order to spark
our creative side...
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Even if they might feel unnatural at first.
?
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Here are five unconventional ways to get your creative juices flowing.
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CUT YOURSELF OFF FROM THE WORLD#1
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If you want to get creative, reduce your sensory input as much as possible.
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Why?
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Cutting off sensory input allows the constantly-make-sure-youre-not-dying part of your brain to chill out for a second, allowing the creative, relaxed part of your
brain to come out and play.
- Graham Talley
https://blog.buerapp.com/the-power-of-shutting-down-your-senses-how-to-boost-your-creativity-and-have-a-clear-mind
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If you work from home or have control over your working environment, try
doing these three things:
Work-from-home expert, Belle Beth Cooper
https://blog.buerapp.com/the-power-of-shutting-down-your-senses-how-to-boost-your-creativity-and-have-a-clear-mind
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REDUCE VISUAL INPUTLay down in a dark room and
just let your mind wander.
Blackout curtains would be perfect for this, but a blindfold or eye mask would do great as well.
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Get a set of padded or in-ear headphones and block out the myriad of distractions and noises around you.
SHUT OUT THE NOISE
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Literally get away from the rest of the world. Try a regular bath time ritual with earplugs and an eye mask.
ISOLATE YOURSELF
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DAYDREAM#2
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Recent research has shown that daydreaming might just be the key to unlocking
your creative problem solving potential.
http://www.hungtonpost.com/2012/10/20/daydreaming-creativity-mind-wandering_n_1981546.html
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A study conducted by researchers from the University of California found that
engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative
problem solving.
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In the experiment, participants were asked to come up with as many unusual uses for an
object as they could.
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Participants then did one of four things before performing the same unusual use task again:
Do a demanding task
Do an undemanding task
Take a 12 minute break
Skip the 12 minute break and do the task right away
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The group who performed the undemanding task was the only group who did better the
second time around.
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This group of people also reported high levels of daydreaming while completing the task.
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Make sure to start your project before drifting off.
http://99u.com/articles/16136/7-ways-to-boost-your-creativity
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Take improv comedy lessons#3
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http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304256404579449180386537694)
Watching comedy can more than double our ability to solve brain teasers, according to researchers from the University of Maryland.
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Comedy improves our mental flexibility, engaging our brains in ways
that it does not expect.
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Taking classes in this area helps to stretch your imagination.
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Improv requires players to accept what they are given, build on the ideas of others, and encourage wild ideas.
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Everyone thinks that they know how to brainstorm, but in fact, brainstorming is usually
plagued by problems like self-censoring, competitiveness, and ridicule.
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Improv is a great way for [people] to learn to defer judgment.
Engineering professor at Dartmouth Peter Robie
http://www.fastcompany.com/1576793/do-improv-comedians-make-best-design-thinkers
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Eat something new for breakfast#4
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If youre looking to increase your creativity, its better to switch up
your morning routine a bit.
Social psychologist Simone Ritter and her colleagues:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201206/why-weird-experiences-boost-creativity
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Any kind of new experience that pushes you out of your normal thought patterns
can help with boosting your creativity.
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Participants of an experiment were asked to prepare a sandwich with butter and chocolate chips
Some people were told to prepare the sandwich in an unusual order:
Putting chocolate chips on a dish, then
Buttering the bread, and then
Placing the bread buttered-side-down on the dish with the chocolate chips.
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Another group had to make the sandwich in the usual order
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Meanwhile, other groups watched a video of a person making the sandwich in either the unusual way or the usual way.
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The result?
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Those who made the sandwich in an unusual order scored highest in cognitive flexibility
compared with the other groups.
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If such a simple exercise could make such a big difference, the possibilities are endless. Make a cup of tea instead of coffee one morning. Find a hip new joint for lunch or try adding a new app to your workflow. Just try to engage your brain differently, and
you might just discover something new that day.
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Switch up your work schedule#5
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Remember: the key to creativity is to get our brains to work less efficiently than normal
(surprisingly!)
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For instance, when were tired, our brains filter tends to take a break.
Science WriterMarissa Fessenden
http://elitedaily.com/life/people-are-creative-when-tired/1145773/
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And starts making non-standard connections.
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A fuzzy brain is more open to fresh ideas and perspectives.
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400 students morning larks and night owls were asked to solve insight-based and analytical problems at different times.
Mareike B. Wieth Rose T. Zacks
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546783.2011.625663
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For the the insight-based creativity problems, participants ended up performing better
when they were less awake.
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For night owls, the optimal time ended up being in the wee hours of the morning.
4:00 AM
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For early risers, the optimal time was late at night.
23:30 AM
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So start thinking about staying up past your bedtime or waking before
your alarm clock to do some unstructured thinking!
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So there you have it! Time to ditch your conventional ways and get your
creative juices flowing!
Creati
ve Juic
e
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Do you have any other unconventional tips for getting your creative on? Give us a shoutout in the comments below, or find us on Twitter.
@piktochart
Check out the full article on our blog: https://piktochart.com/blog/5-unconventional-ways-to-be-creative/