I spent December with #30creativefocusdays — one post per day. In the end, the theme was too vague, but it was born out of the idea that we want to be productive (not nose-to-grind-stone kind of productive, but energising-momentum kind of productive.) In particular, we want to be productive when creating new ideas (not just executing on a concept we already had.) Over these 30 days, I notice my posts had these 3 patterns:
1. Paying attention to where my energy and productivity comes from:
I plan while walking. I insert errands as I go, keeping a list of possible but small tasks.
I brainstorm or meditate on commutes.
I spend a lot of time upsidedown, listening to audiobooks or sketching out ideas, so as to bring the blood circulating in my legs back to the heart to refresh it completely. More yoga!
2. Considering how I feel or want to feel:
A lot of my productivity is about “being in the mood” or “having momentum,” so it begs the question “how do I get into the mood?”
I look at my calendar to see what is energising or de-energising. I notice what the environment, music, food, etc does to me. I made changes based on those observations and tried new settings!
With some reading on emotional differentiation and regulation, I tried to acknowledge how I felt and state how I want to feel (or order to change it.) “Am I experiencing my feelings as if they are weather?” Random and uncontrollable?
3. Learning about the theories of creativity and thinking:
I read a few books on homeschooling — how do we think children and adults learn? I researched a bit into the trivium.
I found there are 3 kinds of mistakes (a little bit like the two kinds of statistical errors.)
I liked the SCAPER method of tweaking and improving ideas:
Substitute something
Combine it with something else
Adapt something to it
Modify or Magnify it
Put it to some other use
Eliminate something
Reverse or Rearrange it
SCRAPER was created by the guy who coined the term “brainstorm!”