5 tips to free your mind and boost your creativity

 

Consuming information reduces creativity - the brain needs to rest.

“To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first get rid of those that have already outlived their destiny. Throwing away what you no longer need is not wasteful or shameful. "

Such advice was given by Mari Kondo, a Japanese writer, and expert in disposing of unnecessary things, which have become perhaps the biggest modern problem of the consumer society. Much of its minimalist principle - outlined in the book Magic Cleaning - rests on the idea that we buy too many things, most of which do not improve our lives in any way.

Kondo writes primarily about things that are usually not thought about: plastic trash, cheap clothes, and all sorts of knickknacks cluttering our homes. She offers to take each of these items in hand, hold and decide whether it "causes joy." If not, Marie advises getting rid of him immediately.

But Kondo's example can be extended to the idea of ​​disorder in a broader sense.

Let's think about this.

Before clearing out the rubble of a house, shouldn't you get the excess out of your head?

The average American spends more than 10.5 hours a day consuming information from the media: watching TV, surfing the Internet, using apps, or listening to podcasts. What information do you consume on a daily basis - including Netflix TV shows, YouTube videos, endless hot discussions on the Internet, and Tinder dating? And how does it affect not only well-being but also creativity?

Usually, it seems to us that the more information, the better - after all, we, after all, live in an information economy, right?

But think, are you confusing knowledge with mindless consumption?

Incoming information flow control

Srinivas Rao, the author of An Audience of One: Reclaiming Creativity for Its Own Sake, says that managing incoming traffic - what and how much we consume - is critical to realizing creativity. " Excessive consumption and large amounts of incoming information hinder creative realization, negatively affect the ability to immerse in work and reduce overall productivity," writes Rao.

Every morning I turn off my phone and free up a mental space that I can fill with my own ideas.

As I mentioned earlier, putting restrictions - like turning off your phone - can be a great way to unleash your creativity, even if it seems counterintuitive at first.

Withdrawing into your thoughts

We live in an age of overstimulation: we take our phones with us to the bathroom and use Wi-Fi even on airplanes. We are rarely left alone with our own thoughts, precisely because we spend so much time absorbing the thoughts of other people.

However, according to Dr. Sandy Mann, who studies boredom (yes, there is such a direction), taking a break and going into your thoughts can help establish contact with consciousness and subconsciousness - and this is where the neural connections that stimulate creativity originate.

Heather Lench, a psychologist at Texas A&M University, described boredom as a "state of seeking" - what is created if not actively seeking new concepts, improvements, and ways to interact with the world?

Book Manush Zomorodi Allow yourself to be bored. An unexpected source of productivity and new ideas inspired the creators of beautiful boring assignments that involve observing but not photographing the world, taking small notes about the environment, and temporarily "disconnecting" from the Internet - all with the aim of stimulating individual creativity.

If you go into your thoughts and give your brain a rest, you can end up with breakthrough ideas. But for this, you need to be ready to take a break and exclude the influence of competing factors for attention.

This is not so easy to do, especially today when an increasing part of our interactions is virtual, and consumption is more and more passive, without direct participation.

Don't Just Consume - Share Ideas

Eric Weiner, the author of The Geography of Genius, has explored the impact of social interaction in places like Vienna's historic coffee shops, where future geniuses spurred their brains by exchanging ideas.

“People from different walks of life come here, their conversation is not orderly, communication flows freely,” says Weiner.

Note the difference: In this case, you are not just absorbing the ideas of others, but actively contributing your own. Dialogue can spark inspiration and make a good idea even better.

Narrow your focus

There is another view of limiting consumption in order to stimulate creativity: some believe that the main thing is to focus energy.

Instead of trying to come up with as many ideas as possible - as is the case during brainstorming sessions, when the boards are filled with all possible proposals - narrow your focus. Scott Anthony, a managing partner of Innosight and author of The First Mile, calls such restrictions "the greatest creativity boosters."

How does this relate to consumption? Imagine the wide range of ideas you consume daily; what if you narrow your focus to something that is directly related to the problems you are actively trying to solve?

One of the ways that help me limit wasteful consumption is through automation and building reliable systems - it’s a lot of time at first, but it’s going to save a lot more afterward.

Cutting back on unproductive work — everything from e-mail replies to grocery shopping — can help you set aside time for important tasks, which include times when your mind can rest and refresh. One of Rao's top tips involves creating separate email accounts - for important and unimportant emails - to separate colleagues' messages from hotel discount notifications.

Forget the fear of missing out

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Constant consumption can be associated with the fear of missing out.

We are afraid that if we do not keep abreast of the latest research or read the latest viral articles, we will be "left behind."

While consuming as much information as possible may seem to help you stay on top of the wave, in reality, this mindset can be counterproductive to productivity and creativity - which we are actively trying to develop.

We used to check our e-mail every 30 seconds - and this laid a mine for our own creativity.

So the next time you find yourself in a creative dead end, try to find time to take a break, switch the context: take a walk, take a shower, or take a 20-minute nap. You will be surprised how quickly the brain starts working once you give it free space to search for new ideas.

I also realized something important: creativity is not a divine gift. These are kinds of muscles that, like everything else, need to be trained. Start doing this and you will see the results.

In a world where everyone is always trying to do more, sometimes you can achieve better results by doing less - or at least by being more selective, disciplined, and spending more time alone with your thoughts - instead of constantly clinging to other people's thoughts.