CHAPTER
10

Priming Your Mind

In This Chapter

• The importance of letting go of assumptions
• Eight techniques for generating creative ideas
• How daydreaming can be productive
• The advantages of doodling

By now, you probably realize that while there may be some mystique involved in creativity, much of the productivity and results come from your own commitment to draw upon and release your ingenuity. You may decide to create to simply have fun and enjoy the process; to improve the overall quality of your life; or to find solutions to a problem in the workplace, in your relationships, or within your own being. You get to decide what, when, why, where, and how you will create, and with whom. But what does it take to start your creative flow and stay there or revisit it often?

Like anything else, creativity requires practice. However, it doesn’t have to be repetitive and dull! In this chapter, I provide some ways you can prime your mind to enhance your creative efforts.

Confronting Your Assumptions Head On

One of the first actions you can take to prepare your mind for creative thinking is to let go of your assumptions—those things you think you know for certain but in actuality, there’s no proof. It’s the old way of thinking when you tell yourself “That’ll never work.” You say this because you think you already know the answer. You just assume it’s a certain way. If you get in a roomful of people who also are thinking this way, dealing with their own assumptions and beliefs, the creative process will be over before it begins.

Check in with yourself on a regular basis whenever you are feeling resistance toward new ideas that either you generate yourself or someone else does. Write out your assumption, or your belief, and ask yourself “Can I be absolutely, 100 percent sure that this is really true?” The answer to that question will usually be “No.” You can then ask yourself “How can I shift my thinking to open my mind so I am willing—maybe even enthused—to explore the ideas in front of me?” This, in combination with the techniques presented in this chapter, can help prime your mind for creativity.

Creative Thinking Practices

At some point in your life while driving or being transported, you’ve probably encountered a sign that reads in big, black letters “ONE WAY ONLY.” On the road to creativity, you should never come across that sign because there is always more than one way on the creativity freeway. Finding your own way to express your individuality, whether working alone or as part of a group, is the basis of creativity.

The creative thinking practices that follow will prime your mind to start thinking differently—to break out of the linear, logical patterns to which you’ve become accustomed. Some are more geared for groups, while others may be used individually. All of them are designed to open your mind and to instill a sense of freedom, like traveling in a convertible with your hair blowing freely in every direction. So idle your engine as you learn about the creative thinking options presented here. When you’re ready, you can then take them each of these for a test drive. (See Chapter 14 for techniques like these that are used in workplace situations.)

Combine Unlike Ideas

Most people are used to thinking in terms of association, not disassociation, so this technique gets you thinking in a way that may feel foreign to you. However, joining two or more unlike ideas can lead to some new and interesting ideas. In fact, it has led to some of the greatest inventions in history. For example, in the fifteenth century, Johannes Gutenberg combined a coin punch with a wine press to create a commercially viable printing press. You can find other examples of simpler but useful products created using the combination of unlike ideas all around you, such as mop slippers (I know from experience, they work well!) and tire swings. When it comes to those two products, unless you’re using this thinking technique, it’s unlikely you would think of a cleaning device when you first hear the word slippers or a swing when you hear the word tire. It’s all about thinking beyond the normal boundaries and coming up with something unique but useful.

To begin, think of some everyday products that were combined into one, such as highlighters that have sticky notes on the other end or ink pens that also serve as a mini flashlight. Become aware of different places you go or products you use yourself and observe how they may have come together due to this type of thinking. Once you have some basis for this type of creation, try it out for yourself.

Think of a situation, goal, product, or service—anything you want to move in a creative or new direction—and go beyond the obvious. Look at different objects, methods, processes, and ideas that are unrelated to each other in their design, purpose, material, or packaging. The weirder the combination, the more likely you’ll generate innovative ideas. Be gentle with yourself if you don’t immediately make any connections; you can always come back to this method and explore again. This is simply about gaining a new perspective on things to drive your creativity.

CREATIVITY COMPASS

I used the technique of combining unlike ideas in my public relations practice by bringing together two unrelated clients. I was representing a home show that was looking for a new entertainment attraction for its attendees. At the same time, I was working with a humane society that had organized a doggie wedding using its therapy dogs. Because a large percentage of homeowners own pets, the combination of the home show and doggie wedding worked. The fluffy matrimonial ceremony provided unexpected laughs for the guests and gave positive exposure to the shelter, which relies on public awareness and donations.

Think in Metaphors

Thinking metaphorically means you take two separate, unrelated things that are alike in some way but not literally. For example, a few commonly spoken metaphors are “The wheels of justice turn slowly,” “Keep your nose to the grindstone,” “The lights are on but nobody’s home,” “It’s raining cats and dogs,” and “You are the apple of my eye.” It’s similar to the simile but doesn’t use the words like or as for comparison. Metaphors are used to make descriptions more striking, visual, and memorable. They work well when you’re trying to communicate something complex because they prompt you to change your normal point of reference and connect two different things.

In the creative process, using metaphorical thinking opens your mind to new images rather than keeping you focused only on what’s in front of you and what you’ve always known. For example, when I was working for a newspaper, the management’s focus was on helping employees appreciate diversity and its importance in the workplace. In an employee seminar, the facilitators addressed the commonly heard metaphor “America is a melting pot”—which means many nationalities blending together to form the American culture—by offering a different metaphor: “America is a salad bowl.” With this revised metaphor, they sought to drive home the point that while people of different ethnicities come together in America, they can still blend while maintaining their unique heritages. That was more than two decades ago, and I’ve never forgotten it. As you can see, using metaphors to spark new ideas is more about the imagery and deeper meaning you create than the phrasing. That’s why I remember the salad bowl metaphor; it quickly brings to mind a visual, and the rationale made sense to me.

Here’s an example for you to play with. Say your goal is to make more money, whether at home or at work. What words or phrases come to your mind when you think of making money? For example, one word that could pop into your mind when you think of the word more is the word increase. When first writing that word, I personally pictured someone blowing up a balloon. Maybe it’s filled with cash. Put the book down for a few minutes and think of more ways to express the goal of making more money in terms of words, phrases, and pictures.

What ideas came to you during those few minutes of brainstorming? The two words and images that came to my mind when thinking about this exercise were grow and blossom, which made me think of nature. This then prompted me to recall the commonly known metaphor of “Money doesn’t grow on trees.” I then thought, Well, what if money did grow on trees? I pictured hundred-dollar bills hanging from the branches. In fact, the bills covered the branches and it just looked like a giant money tree to me. Did you come up with something similar, or was the metaphor vastly different?

So the next time you need some ideas beyond the logical, pick at least one of your own words and start making associations that are not meant to be literal. Once you have created a metaphor or imagined a strong visual for your situation, see what ideas come to mind that relate to the metaphorical description. After that, you can see if any of these ideas relate to the actual situation.

This can be a challenging process, but that’s only because it’s far easier to think the way you’ve always thought. When you’re falling into your regular thought patterns, consider this saying: “If you think what you’ve always thought, you’ll always get what you always got.” So let go of any expectations and have fun with this process because there’s no telling where this type of thinking may lead you!

Look to Others

This recommendation is more about getting accustomed to involving others in your creative process as opposed to a particular way of thinking. As the old adage says, “Sometimes two (or more) heads are better than one.” It doesn’t have to take away from your own ideas. In fact, the opposite is often true.

For example, Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles were one of the world’s most imaginative and prolific songwriting teams ever. As very different individuals, their collabora-tion became one of the most successful in the music industry. And according to an Ultimate Classic Rock blog post by Jeff Giles, McCartney’s creative process still involves his former writing partner. In the interview with Rolling Stone referenced in the blog post, McCartney stated that whenever his inspiration is blocked, he converses with the late Lennon and imagines what John would do. This exemplifies how two people can play off of each other’s ideas and talents to produce a better product than had their approach been limited to their own creativity.

INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT

“A person who can create ideas worthy of note is a person who has learned much from others.”

—Konosuke Matsushita

So consider approaching others who think differently than you do for creative input. Can you think of at least two people who always see things differently than you do? Perhaps they almost seem argumentative because their style is so different from yours. However, bear in mind that when you are really wanting to expand your creative thinking, it’s best to seek the help of someone who complements you as opposed to someone who thinks just like you do.

When most people are looking for ideas or feedback, their tendency is to approach people with like minds. That’s the egocentric part of people who are looking for reinforcement of their own ideas. Instead, take a chance on a complementary type of partnership and be careful of dismissing their ideas too hastily just because they’re so different from your original vision. For instance, I have two friends who are my “go-to” people whenever I’m feeling stuck. Although we cherish the same values, we think differently. They are able to offer a fresh point of view, which is what I’m after during those times. Think about whom you will turn to when you’re looking for help in developing creative ideas.

SCAMPER Away!

SCAMPER is a tool that was developed in 1991 by educational administrator Bob Eberle to improve children’s imaginations and creativity. The acronym stands for the following: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Rearrange. The aim is to use these seven prompts when working with a challenge or looking for a solution to quickly generate a lot of different ideas that may be adapted and built upon, similar to brainstorming. The process is based on feelings of curiosity, risk-taking, complexity, and intuition. Although it was designed for kids, adults are effectively using the practice.

To illustrate how this process works, here’s an example. Say you work for an art show that just celebrated its 25th anniversary. Despite this noteworthy achievement, you notice that attendance has been steadily dropping over the past three years. Your challenge is to find ways to boost the turnout. You could start by looking at what you currently do to attract people to your event and then launch into the SCAMPER process by asking and answering questions in each stage:

Substitute: What features, attractions, or incentives do you offer that you could substitute with something better or different? Focus on ideas you’ve never done before. They may seem silly or ridiculous at first. For example, if you’re charging $10 for admission, what if you replace that with free admission? That might sound crazy because you’ve been charging for years and your knee-jerk reaction is “We could never afford to do that,” but write it down anyway, as you might find a way to make it work later.

Combine: This technique was addressed earlier in this chapter as its own practice, although you’re not limited to looking at combining unlike things. How can you combine what you’re already doing with something else, related or not? Can you work with other organizations that can enhance what you’re already doing, or can you bring a totally new feature to the table by uniting two new ideas? An example would be to combine art with music. Invite a mural artist and a band to combine their talents. The artist painting a large-scale canvas to the beat of live music could become a new attraction.

Adapt: Are others in your industry or an unrelated business offering features you could adapt to work for you? Can you take one of your existing attractions to make adjustments to make it more alluring? Most art shows also have food vendors. An example of adapting your food area would be to include an “artsy food area.” Create a contest for your food vendors to see who can make the most artistic menu item.

Modify: Remember the belief that there’s no such thing as an original idea? In this step, you can look at other ideas and change them in a way that becomes your own. Look at modifications you can make in all areas of your operation, from logistics and programming to marketing and sponsorships. An example would be to modify the craft section of your art show and include a “hands-on” space for attendees to make their own craft with guidance from instructors.

Put to another use: What parts of your art show can be used differently? For example, maybe you take the part of your event site you were using for artist demonstrations and turn it into a wine garden instead.

Erase: What can you remove, even if you believe it’s essential? If your art festival has a kids’ area and you don’t have many kids who attend, maybe it’s time to eliminate that area.

Rearrange: What can you reorganize? Perhaps rearranging your entire site layout or even moving to a different location will mix things up enough to prompt people’s curiosity, which could boost attendance.

INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT

“Imaginative thought and expression require playing around with ideas, toying with responsibilities, and roaming around in the world of make-believe.”

—Bob Eberle

This example is just a brief look at how the SCAMPER process works. When you actually use this tool for a work, volunteer, or personal situation, you will want to ask many more questions. With each phase of SCAMPER, pose as many questions as you can think of. A good technique is to frame your questions using the five Ws of journalism: who, what, when, where, and why. Also, questions that begin with “how” and “what if” work well in this process.

Use Free Word Associations

This tool can be used alone, in groups, in the workplace, at volunteer committee meetings, or even at parties just for fun. The idea is to freely associate one word or phrase with another. This is great for generating a lot of ideas quickly because you say the first word that comes to your mind. The words can have a similar or opposite meaning or be closely aligned to the subject. For example, if I say peanut butter, you might think of the word jelly, the next word might be sandwich, and so on.

You can find many creative applications of this tool in the real world. According to a Business Survival Toolkit online document, Campbell’s Soup reportedly used word association that resulted in the creation of a new product. The initial word was handle, which spawned the word utensil and then fork. An idea arose about eating soup with a fork, and after pondering that thought, they came up with the idea that you can only eat soup with a fork if it contains large pieces of meat or vegetables. Can you guess what emerged from that? You got it—Campbell’s Chunky Soups.

To try word association yourself, begin by selecting a word or phrase that relates to your circumstance. If you’re alone, you can do this sitting down and writing on a piece of paper; or if you’re working in a group, you could go big and do it on a flip chart. Writing one idea per Post-it note and sticking them on the wall also will do the job. Keep going until you think you’re done—and then challenge yourself to continue. You might consider setting a timer, which will make you and any participants feel the pressure to blurt out whatever comes to mind. You won’t have time to analyze—that’s a good thing! Once you have finished, compile those words you see as most viable. Consider which words give you additional insight or evoke images that may be useful. You might even be able to connect some of them together just like the “combine unlike ideas” approach. While this technique may not produce an immediate result, it should ignite some useful ideas you can continue to pursue.

Not sure where to begin? Try this example to get a feel for the process. Pretend you are buying a birthday gift for your best friend, who seemingly has everything. First, grab a piece of paper and a pen or pencil to start making your list of words. What word would start the free word association? There’s no rule to this. You could start with the person’s name or a category of something you know she likes, such as shoes, cars, clothes, jewelry, electronics—you get the picture. Start writing as many words as you can generate. When you think you’re done, press yourself to go a little longer. Sometimes the best ideas surface toward the end. Once you’re finished, go through the words and see if you can put together any solid ideas. If you actually came up with a gift to give your friend, how cool would it be to have her say, upon opening it, “Wow, how did you ever think of this?”

Start with the End in Mind

If you’re someone who often gets caught up in details and loses sight of the “big picture,” consider this technique, which Stephen R. Covey addressed in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: start with the end in mind. When you start your thinking with the end in mind, the “big picture” or your “grand vision” is the guiding force and will lead you in a more meaningful direction.

To illustrate this concept, I’ll use an example from my own creative journey. I began with the end in mind when I decided I wanted to have a solo photography exhibit showing my latest work. I had no idea of when, where, or how I was going to achieve this. I just knew that if I could realize this big-picture goal, it would be a fulfilling accomplishment because it had been 20 years since my last solo photo exhibit. It also was important because my pursuing this would serve as a good role model to my creativity course participants. Once I created my vision, I then began to look at ideas of how to accomplish this.

Now contrast this big-picture approach with a step-by-step method in which I start at the beginning, which means setting an intention of more exposure for my photography without declaring the end creation up front. In other words, sometimes you can picture the end result and work backward and other times, you start small and work toward the end. Both methods require further ideas, exploration, analyzing, and executing—all stages in the creative process.

CREATIVITY COMPASS

Although Stephen R. Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, was aimed at and embraced by the business market, the habit he describes as “Begin with the End in Mind” also gives you another approach to your creative thinking. You’re looking first at your desired destination, what matters most—not the details of how you’ll get there.

In this instance, once I decided that in the end my photography would be featured in an exhibit, I began selecting, printing, and framing my photos. Within a year, I learned about a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide temporary lodging for the families of hospitalized loved ones. They had established a program for artists to display their work in the home as a way to add beauty and recognize local artists. I was selected to exhibit my photos for one month and enjoyed celebrating with many supporters at the opening. The opposite approach would have been to start at the beginning by generating ideas, exploring, and examining multiple options to feature my photography with no decisive end in mind.

Determining your specific goal up front and what it looks like may serve as the inspiration you need to start and keep going toward this creative vision. Otherwise, you can get lost in the details along the way, which may result in discouragement. When considering one of your creative undertakings, experiment with this practice by looking first at the big-picture results you envisioned and why this is meaningful to you. Once you have an idea of what you’d like to achieve, work backward from there, breaking the steps into doable action pieces.

Good Ol’ Brainstorming

Brainstorming has been around for decades and is still a great tool for unleashing ideas. You can use it when you’re getting ready to embark on a new project or creative direction, as well as when you want to improve on an existing one. This activity works best with groups, with everyone participating and every idea getting recorded. Usually, one person stands before the group and writes all of the ideas on a white board, chalkboard, or flip chart where all can see. This scribe should take notice of those who are not contributing and encourage them in a fun way to take part while putting limits on the folks who try to dominate the session.

The focus of a brainstorming session is on quantity, not quality. The quality part comes later during the “analyze and act” stage of the creative process (see Chapter 4 for a refresher on the creative process). Therefore, it makes no difference if the same idea is repeated with different wording; write it down anyway. Sometimes the same thought said another way can evoke other meanings and ideas. The process should also be done quickly. If a thought comes to your mind that you silently judge as being silly, say it anyway!

The key to an effective brainstorm is no judgment! Ah, but it’s so tempting to blurt out, “We’ve tried that before. It’ll never work.” Resist that temptation! The scribe—or you could have another person who serves as a moderator—should remind the participants of the “no judgment” rule. This is especially crucial when and if someone shows any sign of criticism or disregard, which includes anything from outbursts to rolling eyeballs.

Now, all that said about judgment, there are some creativity experts who say this old style of brainstorming actually inhibits new ideas. They believe if there is no discussion as to why certain ideas won’t work, there will be fewer creative ideas put out there because all of the ideas are already being seen as possibilities. No one is saying that ideas (and the people who say them) should be attacked in any way, but they propose if an idea is properly criticized, it may prompt other group members to improve upon others’ ideas. I think this is a matter of trial and error to see what works better for your group. Personally, I believe you can still play off of someone else’s idea without the need for judgment or why an idea won’t work. See what works best for you and discuss all of the “rules” or guidelines before the session begins so everyone understands the process.

While taking part in this process, keep in mind that ideas also should not be discussed in depth during this process; you and other participants are simply throwing around ideas. When the time comes to select your best ideas, you can then potentially use the technique of combining unlike ideas. You may find that this combination provides a better solution than using only one idea.

INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHT

“Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.”

—Edward de Bono

Create a Mind Map

Mind mapping is a process that uses a mix of images, colors, and thoughts that are visually organized with branches of keywords. This organization activates associations in the brain to further ignite ideas. You can draw the maps by hand or by the more modern version of software, such as iMindMap (app.imindmap.com). You do not have to be an artist to partake in this process!

I was first introduced to mind mapping in the late 1980s when I attended a seminar on time management. It was about 20 years before that when international speaker and author Tony Buzan developed the technique to help students take notes using key words and images. The visual aspect helps to make the material more memorable and conveys concepts that can otherwise be complicated in an easier fashion. Buzan believes that mind mapping increases creativity along with organization, productivity, and memory.

To make a mind map, start with a core idea that you wish to explore, teach, communicate, remember, organize, or study and write the word or phrase in the middle of the page, along with an image that ties into your topic. So if you were to do a mind map on “Things I Love,” for example, you would write that phrase and draw some type of image, which serves as visual stimuli for your brain. Next, start adding branches with words that relate to their “mother” branches, which flow from your central image. So each branch contains one word, and the branches become your key themes. You can continue to add as many secondary branches as you wish that extend from the main branches. There are no restrictions! Your brain will naturally form new associations as you add more pieces.

To connect the visual and logical aspects of your mind map, Buzan recommends color coding your branches. This leads to whole-brain thinking and mental shortcuts. Adding color also enables you to identify even more links through highlighting, analyzing information, and categorizing. Plus, color makes it more pleasing to the eye!

Remember the old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”? That concept applies to mind mapping, too. Add some images to your map to further express your topic. If you do an internet search for examples of mind maps, you will see a whole variety you can use for reference. They don’t all follow the process I’ve outlined to the letter, but they follow the general principles.

To test-drive this tool, I suggest picking an easy topic, one with great familiarity to you, and playing around with it to get an idea of how it works.

An example of a mind map on the topic of creativity.

How Daydreaming Can Be Fruitful

Have you ever listened to a friend talk and suddenly recognized you have no idea what she said? Or maybe you’re in the middle of a business meeting and your boss calls on you unexpectedly for your opinion but you have no clue how to answer because you realized your mind was elsewhere.

The good news is you’re not alone. Most people spend 30 to 47 percent of their waking hours daydreaming, according to scientific studies. Furthermore, daydreaming—or mind wandering—also has been found to play an important role in creativity. Studies show those who daydream score higher on creativity tests. There’s also evidence of an association between daydreaming and creative problem-solving, memory improvement, and greater connections that are made when the mind is wandering. So if after engaging with some of the previous creative thinking techniques you feel you’d just like to let your mind wander for a while, don’t worry—you may actually be supporting your creativity.

Daydreaming occurs when you lose sight of the present moment and begin thinking about things that don’t relate to what’s in front of you. That’s why it’s often viewed as a waste of time, just as doodling is often perceived (more on that in the next section). But neuroscientists have discovered that the mind is much more active when it is wandering than when it’s wrapped up in reasoning with a thorny problem. Taking a break from the issue and allowing your mind to wander can actually help the creative process by giving your brain time, distance, and reflection space to naturally process and develop ideas while not focused on the problem. Connections—those out-of-the-blue, a-ha, profound moments—are often made between things that appear to be unrelated to the conscious mind during the daydreaming process.

CREATIVITY KEY

Some companies give employees time off for reflection before getting back to the problem at hand in order to encourage daydreaming. You can do the same for yourself when trying to figure out a work-related challenge or circumstance. Taking a walk without intentionally thinking of the concept or issue at hand is a great way to let your mind wander and possibly stumble upon a new and different perspective.

However, simply letting your mind wander aimlessly doesn’t breed creativity. Unless you are conscious enough to acknowledge these insights, the value of daydreaming diminishes in the creative process. For example, mind wandering can disrupt comprehension when reading or trying to complete a task, according to Dr. Malia Mason, professor of management at Columbia University and former postdoctoral fellow in cognitive neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. She believes wandering thoughts are not random. Instead, they frequently occur due to things you have yet to finish, such as doing the laundry, returning a phone call, or completing a to-do list item. Therefore, she advises clearing the nonessential clutter from your mind so when it does wander, it latches on to more meaningful matters.

So while daydreaming offers benefits to your creativity, you may want to be more aware and selective when you choose to allow your mind to wander. If you’re in a meeting and your mind starts to drift, you may have to lasso it and save the daydreaming for another time to spare getting in trouble—that is, unless you’re with people who understand the benefits.

Why Doodling Isn’t Dawdling

Doodling is another frequently misunderstood activity that carries creativity benefits with it. Some of the better-known folks who have been known to doodle include Bill Gates, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Washington, Thomas Edison, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Ronald Reagan. So as you can see, if you doodle, you’re in good company. Yet much of society negatively perceives that doodling is for dawdlers. It’s often frowned upon as a waste of time and a sign of disrespect when done in the classroom or in the workplace. Many a student and employee have been reprimanded when they and their doodles were “discovered.”

While some may think doodling takes away the person’s attention, the opposite effect has shown up in studies. A study by Jackie Andrade, a professor at the University of Plymouth, showed that doodlers retained 29 percent more information than their nondoodling equivalents. Engaging in these rough or sometimes not-so-rough drawings actually keeps doodlers from losing focus on matters that are boring or complicated, according to Andrade. Doodling provides just enough mental stimulation to support continued concentration and also prepares the mind for innovative and divergent thinking.

During a TED talk in 2011, Sunni Brown, co-author of GameStorming: A Playbook for Rule-breakers, Innovators and Changemakers, delivered a presentation in which she educated the audience about the benefits of doodling. She described doodling as a powerful tool that must be relearned by nondoodlers because it helps them think, creatively solve problems, and process information. Because people take in information in four ways—visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic—to fully process information and act on it, she said at least two of those modes must be involved or individually combined with an emotional experience. Doodling captivates all four simultaneously with an emotional experience as a possibility. For example, while doodling at a personal improvement seminar, you may recall an experience from your past that makes you feel happy (emotional experience). However, while doodling is native to everyone, she feels most people deny that inherent tendency. Do you doodle, or have you avoided it due to pressure from others or yourself?

You can consciously decide to doodle in an effort to creatively resolve an issue, find solutions, or dream up new ideas. Or doodling may be done randomly in the spur of the moment. With the latter, you don’t plan on doodling—you just do it. I’ve gotten to know myself well enough that I can almost guarantee that if I’m attending a conference that has one speaker after the next or one person who makes a long presentation, at some point I will begin to doodle—but it’s not something I ever plan out. You could, however, try deliberately doodling as a technique to see if any illuminations come to you during the doodling process.

To get a feel for doodling if you’re out of practice, experiment with doodling during idle time—for example, while discussing an issue or idea while talking with a friend on the phone or while listening to music. As much as possible, detach from your conscious mind and just allow yourself to draw whatever rises to the surface. Do not judge what you are drawing! No one ever has to see your scribbles or masterpiece (however you view it). Perhaps something in your doodle will stand out later as a helpful clue to your situation. The awesome thing about doodling is it’s easy to do without expecting anything of yourself. Only the most intense perfectionist would expect flawless doodles. (Is there such a thing?)

CREATIVITY COMPASS

Sunni Brown feels so strongly about the importance of doodling that she is literally leading a “Doodle Revolution.” You can join her by signing up on her website, sunnibrown.com/doodlerevolution.

The Least You Need to Know

• Letting go of old assumptions will further enhance your creativity by removing limitations to what you want to do.
• Being creative is less about mystique and more about being committed to exploring new ways to think.
• The more you practice your creative expression, the more it will flourish. It does not just happen magically.
• There are numerous creative thinking techniques that will help you make the shift from old to new thinking patterns. You just have to be open to shifting your mind-set.
• Daydreaming and doodling are often perceived by people in charge as a waste of time, yet research shows that they can actually enhance your creativity.