Creative kickstarts: five tricks for moving from thought to action
We all get stuck sometimes. Here are five quick, deceptively simple tricks to shake things up and get your brain to shift from thinking to doing.
1. Make something (anything).
Put away your screens, spreadsheets, documents, notebooks, and all the other usual tools of your trade. Grab a fistful of markers, a stack of paper, a bunch of coffee stirrers, some paperclips, or whatever else you have on hand. And make something…anything! Creating something tangible forces our brains out of their usual patterns and helps us to see and think about things differently. It doesn’t even really matter what you make; the act of making is a powerful perspective-shifter in and of itself. Making stuff is also a great way to get a “visual first draft” of an idea out into the world so that people have something to react to — it’s a lot easier to share, consider, and respond to a physical thing than to an intangible idea.
2. Roll the dice.
Are you feeling stuck because there are too many things to do, and everything feels important? How to prioritize, and where to begin? When there’s no clear starting point, the strategic use of chance can be a potent way to break out of indecision and get things moving. Try this: assign a number to each thing that needs to get done, and then just roll a die — or, use your favorite method of random selection — to decide what to focus on first. Then, start there.
3. Map it.
Mind-mapping is the simple act of taking all the stuff in your head — ideas, words, themes, fuzzy thoughts — and getting it all out in a way that helps you find and make connections between disparate things. It’s a powerful visual thinking tool that’s non-linear, which means it gives your brain a chance to process things freely, without a predefined path or outcome. And that allows for new ideas, connections, and possibilities to arise that you may not have seen before.
4. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
I’m a big fan of the Pomodoro method. A 25-minute time block seems like no time at all, but it’s sneakily smart: 25 minutes is short enough it requires you to break down large, unwieldy or complex tasks into smaller, more manageable parts. (And, low-commitment enough that you really don’t have an excuse not to give it a shot.) By focusing deeply on just one clearly defined thing, you’ll get a boost of accomplishment and the increased clarity and perspective that comes with moving forward rather than standing still.
5. Get moving.
Go take a walk. Leave your phone behind. Bring someone along and talk it out, if you’d like. Get outside, if possible. There’s a lot of research behind the idea that walking helps increase creativity. And besides, walking makes for a great brain break. Go!
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About the Author: Erin Rufledt helps organizations develop their brand strategy and story and bring them to life with design. She’s the founder of Luminary Lab, a design and strategy firm that works with companies big and small to align their vision, their customer experience, and their marketing to win more business and clearly communicate about the work they do.
