photo by laffy4k
I never thought of myself as a “creative thinker,” I mean that’s for artists, writers, and musicians…you know, “creative types.” However, do you have to be a painter in order to be creative? By writing a novel am I suddenly more creative? Surely, there is no room in the business world for creativity.
I’ve started to realize, without creative thinking there is no innovation. Steve Wozniak (designed the first Apple computer,) Jeff Bezos (of Amazon.com fame,) and Larry Page/Sergey Brin (founders of Google.com) are all very creative thinkers who helped revolutionize the computing industry in one way or another. They are known to be constantly thinking about the “next great thing,” always exploring new options, and are considered “offbeat” in many ways.
I am a big fan of anything Monty Python. I find their “outside the box” style of comedy is still unmatched nearly 40 years after their heyday. I recently stumbled across an excerpt from John Cleese’s presentation at Creativity World ‘08 which was very insightful for me. John provides us a glimpse into his creative process, sharing why we think the way to do (especially at a subconscious level) and providing some basic tips to help anyone begin to start thinking creatively.
I felt several of his talking points were extremely interesting…
1. Let your subconscious help you out…sleep on it.
John starts by sharing a time when he was stuck on writing a skit. What did he do? He slept on it. In the morning he awoke and realized he had the answer to his problem. Additionally, he could not longer recall the exact nature of the problem.
Have you ever been stuck on a problem, gone to sleep, and woke in the morning only to have the answer to your problem?
This is your subconscious at work. Given the opportunity, it can work miracles. Even while you are sleeping, your mind is constantly processing inputs, logically breaking down ideas, and building connections to other ideas you have . Although it’s a commonly used phrase, “sleeping on it” can be really powerful.
2. Creative thinking is a marathon, not a sprint.
John shares another experience in which he had written a script, but misplaced it. Thankfully, he had a fair amount of the script committed to memory, so he sat down to rewrite it. A short time later he found the original, so he compared it to the rewritten version. He found, to his amazement, the second script was noticeably better than the first.
The creative process often requires you to visit an idea several times before you are satisfied with the result. If you have a good idea, write it down and let it rest for a day or two. As above, your subconscious will continue to foster and build the idea. Come back and write the idea out again and see how much better it is after your mind has had some time to dwell on it.
3. Nothing kills the creative process like interruptions.
John describes how he establishes “…boundaries of space and time…” in order to think creatively. By isolating himself and committing a pre-determined amount of time to creative thinking he believes you create “…an oasis that is separate from ordinary life…” which allows for your best creative thinking.
Much has been written on how disruptive interruptions can be. In today’s connected world, we are bombarded with phone calls, email, Twitter, and the dreaded “walk up” (of which I am all too guilty of.) Limiting interruptions (both receiving and causing) is key to creative thinking. It sounds so simple, but establishing a “thinking space” and “thinking time” can be a powerful way to generate ideas.
thank you
| August 5th, 2009 @ 7:31 am
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| August 5th, 2009 @ 8:53 pm