The brain aka our mind is like a muscle. And just like any body muscle, it cannot work on extended time. Our muscles are designed to work on bursts and rely on breaks for recovery. Only then will we come back stronger, fresher and more ready. But what happens when even after taking a break, you still feel stuck and your mind can’t come up with a new idea?
An Audience Of One By Srivinas Rao
Any work requires a certain idea, otherwise, you’re just trapped into a maze of boredom. For this reason, I decided to research the topic on Creative Mind. My materials were these 2 books : Where Good Ideas Come From by Steve Johnson and Audience of One by Srinivas Rao.
To keep our creative mind and muscle sharp, here are 4 things that you must try to do:
On average, we make around 300 decisions a day. This easily leads to decision fatigue, but that number could be significantly reduced. When your decisions are simplified, the mind environment will be less cluttered. This leaves you with more cognitive energy for your creativity.
Here’s an experiment or a daily exercise you can try : Starting tomorrow morning, spend the first hour of your day to list down all the decisions you have to make. Start from what to wear, what to eat, what to do next, what other decisions throughout the day to make, what’s for dinner etc.
True, you will spend the first hour doing mostly just scribbling. But you’ll notice saving more time and energy later on, since all the thinking process are compiled up front at the beginning of the day.
In her book, The Artist’s Way, author Julia Cameron takes time off once a week to go on what she calls “artist’s dates”.
It’s a simple concept: You schedule a specific time to take yourself on a little field trip of pure delight and pleasure. The only “rule” is that the date can’t feel like work. Other than that, you’re free to explore and discover however and wherever your spirit takes you.
Maybe swinging at a child’s playground is your idea of bliss, or browsing in a bead and ribbon store. Maybe it’s the more obvious—a museum exhibit or a documentary about an artist you admire. Whatever that may be, you owe it to date yourself sometimes!
Ever heard of a 365 photography project or a 30-day writing challenge? As mundane as it sounds, having an daily ongoing long project actually benefits to keep your mind sharp. You can join online programs by certain coaches, but it might be even more fun and creative to customize your own little challenge.
It can be as simple as making a recipe every day until you’ve gone through one entire cookbook, the way Julie Powell gave herself one year to cook her way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Noah Scalin created a skull in different media and forms every day for a year.
Other possibilities include: