Beyond the Breed Myth- Discover your true creative potential. How to Use the Psychology of Space to Boost Your Creativity. If you’re a creative professional or artist who works at home either full- or part-time, you enjoy at least one immediate advantage over your office-bound peers: People generate more ideas for novel and useful solutions to creative problems when they’re at home than in any other single environment. Want to make your home an even more effective idea incubator? Apply what scientists in the field of environmental psychology have learned about the effects of space on creative thinking to your home office. Environmental psychology is a branch of science that explores the influence of our physical surroundings on how we think, feel, and act. That influence has been felt most strongly so far in healthcare facility design.
But research in environmental psychology hasn’t been limited to issues of healthcare. In fact, this compendium of knowledge contains so many tactics for facilitating creativity that it would be difficult to explore them all in depth here. Views and Vistas Ceiling Height. The Creativity Crisis. Back in 1958, Ted Schwarzrock was an 8-year-old third grader when he became one of the “Torrance kids,” a group of nearly 400 Minneapolis children who completed a series of creativity tasks newly designed by professor E.
Paul Torrance. Schwarzrock still vividly remembers the moment when a psychologist handed him a fire truck and asked, “How could you improve this toy to make it better and more fun to play with?” He recalls the psychologist being excited by his answers. In fact, the psychologist’s session notes indicate Schwarzrock rattled off 25 improvements, such as adding a removable ladder and springs to the wheels.
The accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful, and that’s what’s reflected in the tests. Nobody would argue that Torrance’s tasks, which have become the gold standard in creativity assessment, measure creativity perfectly. The potential consequences are sweeping. Now the brain must evaluate the idea it just generated. How to Have Breakthrough Ideas. The (lack of) science behind happiness and creativity — Quartz.
Corporations intent on making employees more engaged and creative are focusing on happiness as the answer. Chief Happiness Officer is an actual job at many companies. But most scientists say that creativity calls on persistence and problem-solving skills, not positivity. Computational scientist Anna Jordanous at Kent University and linguist Bill Keller of Sussex University in England dug through through over half century of study on the creative process in various fields, and isolated 14 components of creativity. Happiness wasn’t one of them. Creativity is complex. The 14 components Jordanous and Keller found all need to work together to varying degrees depending on the task at hand, the researchers explain. Mark Davis, a psychologist at the University of North Texas Department of Management divides creativity into two phases; initial idea generation and subsequent problem-solving.
That said, psychologists aren’t suggesting that you live in an emotional maelstrom for creativity’s sake. Second-Level Thinking: What Smart People Use to Outperform. “Experience is what you got when you didn’t get what you wanted.” Howard Marks Successful decision making requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects. Decision making is as much art as science. The goal, if we have one, is not to make perfect decisions but rather to make better decisions than average. To do this we require either good luck or better insight. In most of life you can get a step ahead of others by going to the gym or the library, or even a better school. Would be thinkers and deciders can attend the best schools, take the best courses and, if they are lucky, attach themselves to the best mentors. But how do we get there in a world where everyone else is also smart and well-informed? In his exceptional book, The Most Important Thing, Howard Marks hits on the concept of second-level thinking.
First-level thinking is simplistic and superficial, and just about everyone can do it (a bad sign for anything involving an attempt at superiority). Marks writes: Brainstorming Doesn't Work; Try This Technique Instead. Evan Rosenbaum was 2 years old when his father brought home the Power Macintosh 7100. This was 1994, and the 7100, a new personal computer from Apple, was a hefty gray console, hardly anything to look at. (It would be three years before Steve Jobs fatefully met the designer Jony Ive.) Nevertheless, the computer was cutting edge at the time, and Rosenbaum’s father, Howard, an accountant with entrepreneurial aspirations, unboxed it with delight. He installed it in the wood-paneled den overlooking the backyard of his Long Island home. "I just remember how excited he was, setting it up, seeing what it could do," Rosenbaum says. Howard sat his young son on his lap, and together they explored the computer. But then, Howard passed away suddenly, stricken with a heart attack at 35.
When Rosenbaum turned 3, then 4, he spent more and more time with the 7100. Rosenbaum didn’t realize the degree to which he associated his dad with the 7100 until the year he turned 6. Warren Berger's Three-Part Method for More Creativity. “A problem well stated is a problem half-solved.”— Charles “Boss” Kettering The whole scientific method is built on a very simple structure: If I do this, then what will happen? That’s the basic question on which more complicated, intricate, and targeted lines of inquiry are built, across a wide variety of subjects.
This simple form helps us push deeper and deeper into knowledge of the world. (On a sidenote, science has become such a loaded, political word that this basic truth of how it works frequently seems to be lost!) Individuals learn this way too. Because question-asking is such an integral part of how we know things about the world, both institutionally and individually, it seems worthy to understand how creative inquiry works, no? Warren Berger proposes a simple method in his book A More Beautiful Question; an interesting three-part system to help (partially) solve the problem of inquiry. Why? It starts with the Why? A good Why? A. B. This whole Why? The easy answer is sixteen. Four easy, everyday habits that will boost your creativity. Whenever the question “So… what do you do?” Comes up for creatives, most of us get one of two responses: 1: “Oh, cool! Well anyway, [insert subject-change to the weather/the food/their work/the latest episode of The Walking Dead]” 2: [with rapidly-widening eyes] “Oh wow.
So you have to be creative, like, all the time?!” What blows my mind about response #2 is the way ‘constant creativity’ can intimidate people (even when they have a ton of talent themselves.) It’s as if the life of a designer/copywriter/developer/strategist/etc… is some mysterious muse-summoning marathon, fuelled by coffee and Spotify, that requires an unceasing burning and churning in the brain. Here’s the thing: while getting paid to bring ideas to life day in, day out has its challenges, it ain’t rocket science.
Because it can’t be. You wouldn’t worry if your surgeon is feeling ‘inspired enough’ to operate, or ask your mechanic if he’s in the ‘right headspace’ to fix your car, right? It’s the same with creatives. Luckily. This column will change your life: Helsinki Bus Station Theory. I've never visited Finland. Actually, I probably never should, since it's a place I love so much on paper – dazzling, snow-blanketed landscapes, best education in the world, first country to give full suffrage to women, home of the Moomins – that reality could only disappoint. Even the staunchest Finnophile, though, might be sceptical on encountering the Helsinki Bus Station Theory. First outlined in a 2004 graduation speech by Finnish-American photographer Arno Minkkinen, the theory claims, in short, that the secret to a creatively fulfilling career lies in understanding the operations of Helsinki's main bus station.
It has circulated among photographers for years, but it deserves (pardon the pun) greater exposure. So I invite you to imagine the scene. There are two dozen platforms, Minkkinen explains, from each of which several different bus lines depart. There are two reasons this metaphor is so compelling – apart from the sheer fact that it's Finland-related, I mean. 4 Principles That Will Lead You To Breakthrough Creativity. Combing through the research, what are the overarching principles that we need to know to be more innovative thinkers in everyday life? Here they are, with links to the research backing them up. 1) Relax What is most likely your daily creative peak? Your morning shower. For many of us it’s the most relaxing part of our day — and the most creative. Just being happy can make you more creative for days; seriously, just smile.
Watching comedy clips helps, trying too hard hurts. It’s probably no surprise that boring work is better done at the office and creative work is better accomplished at home. Being in nature relaxes us and even a mere potted plant in the office can increase creativity. Sleep is good. 2) Expose Yourself To New Ideas And New Perspectives Unusual or unexpected events increase creativity. Imagining you’re a child again or that you’re solving a problem for someone else was enough to increase creativity. 3) Get Ideas Crashing Into Each Other You want a mix of fresh and classic.
Three Creativity Challenges from IDEO’s Leaders. People often ask us how they can become more creative. Through our work at the global design and innovation firm IDEO and David’s work at Stanford University’s d.school, we’ve helped thousands of executives and students develop breakthrough ideas and products, from Apple’s first computer mouse to next-generation surgical tools for Medtronic to fresh brand strategies for the North Face in China. This 2012 HBR article outlines some of the approaches we use, as does our new book, Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All.
One of our top recommendations? Practice being creative. The more you do it, the easier it gets. Of course, exercising your mind can sometimes feel more daunting than exercising your muscles. So we’ve developed ten creativity challenges to jump-start your practice. TOOL: Mindmap PARTICIPANTS: Usually a solo activity TIME: 15-60 minutes SUPPLIES: Paper (the bigger the better) and pen TOOL: 30 Circles PARTICIPANTS: Solo or groups of any size. RSA Shorts - Does Brainstorming Work? Managing Creativity and Innovation: Coming Up with a Perfect Brainstorm. At Digital River, ideas are everything.
So every Friday morning, at 8 a.m. sharp, CEO Joel Ronning calls his "entrepreneurs council" to order. For the next hour or so, about 45 senior employees of the Eden Prairie, Minn., e-commerce company huddle in a conference room and hammer out one suggestion after another, in hopes of hitting upon something, anything, that will add revenue or cut costs. n Over the past three years, the council has hatched new ideas for everything from training new hires to smarter selling strategies--ideas that Ronning says have saved or made Digital River hundreds of thousands of dollars. As for inspiring his team to strive for such creative heights, Ronning credits a fun, informal corporate culture, which includes, among other things, free beer on Friday afternoons.
A $2,500 quarterly award for the best idea doesn't hurt either. Ronning is pleased with his results. An Army of One Asking the Right Questions That leads to poor results, says Paulus. Bad Ideas. Brainstorming Doesn’t Really Work. In the late nineteen-forties, Alex Osborn, a partner in the advertising agency B.B.D.O., decided to write a book in which he shared his creative secrets. At the time, B.B.D.O. was widely regarded as the most innovative firm on Madison Avenue.
Born in 1888, Osborn had spent much of his career in Buffalo, where he started out working in newspapers, and his life at B.B.D.O. began when he teamed up with another young adman he’d met volunteering for the United War Work Campaign. By the forties, he was one of the industry’s grand old men, ready to pass on the lessons he’d learned. His book “Your Creative Power” was published in 1948.
“Your Creative Power” was filled with tricks and strategies, such as always carrying a notebook, to be ready when inspiration struck. The book outlined the essential rules of a successful brainstorming session. The underlying assumption of brainstorming is that if people are scared of saying the wrong thing, they’ll end up saying nothing at all. CreativityRulz: Brainstorming Rules: What TO DO and What NOT TO DO...
These two short videos are priceless! They were created by students at the Stanford Design Institute. The first one shows how NOT to brainstorm and the second one shows HOW to do it effectively. They picked a fanciful problem to solve - saving your chewing gum when you go to class. The worst case example happens all the time. In fact, I was at a meeting last week with people with whom I don't normally work, and we were "brainstorming" about a new program. One person made a suggestion, and someone else literally responded with, "Go shoot yourself. " Here is a video summary of what NOT to do: Here is a video summary of what TO DO: - Defer judgment- Capture all the ideas- Encourage wild ideas- One conversation at a time- Build on other people's ideas- Be visual - use words and pictures- Use headlines to summarize ideas- Go for volume - the more ideas the better!
The Science Of Great Ideas--How to Train Your Creative Brain. Ah, ideas. Who doesn’t want more great ideas? I know I do. I usually think about ideas as being magical and hard to produce. I expect them to just show up without me cultivating them, and I often get frustrated when they don’t show up when I need them. The good news is that it turns out cultivating ideas is a process, and one that we can practice to produce more (and hopefully better) ideas. On the other hand, often times great ideas can also just come to us whilst in the shower or in another relaxing environment. First, let’s look at the science of the creative process. How our brains work creatively So far, science hasn’t really determined exactly what happens in our brains during the creative process, since it really combines a whole bunch of different brain processes.
The truth is, our brain hemispheres are inextricably connected. The idea that people can be “right brain thinkers” or “left brain thinkers” is actually a myth that I’ve debunked before: Producing new ideas is a process. The Creative Accident: Are You Looking for the Unexpected? Neat vs. Messy: Which Is Better for Creativity? There's a general assumption--in homes, in workplaces--that neatness corresponds to productivity.
It begins in elementary school, with the annual rite of buying school supplies. You have the intent of staying organized, subject by subject, throughout the year. In adulthood, the habit continues. Every December, you buy an annual planner or calendar. As it happens, the fine art of getting organized is an official profession, with formal certifications, a code of ethics, and an official industry group (the National Association of Professional Organizers, or NAPO, 4,000 members strong). And that's just the beginning. And all that is just a yellow brick in the road of America's $4.3 billion stationery industry.
Yet it's possible--and even demonstrable--that you'll be more creative if your work space is disorganized and messy. The Argument for Messiness Last year, she described her work in the New York Times. What This Means for Businesses Of course not. The Need for Sustainable Creativity. When Niggling Stress Stops Creativity. David Kelley: How to build your creative confidence. 29 Ways to Stay Creative infographic. 51 Ways to Explode Your Creativity. How to be Creative. An Easy Way to Increase Creativity. 6 Ways My Brain Stops Me From Creating – And How I'm Fighting Back. Thinking Exercises For The Whole Brain. Can You Teach Yourself to Be Creative? The Neuroscience of Imagination. How to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing. Creativity's Most Underappreciated Component: Persistence - Pacific Standard.