What opens my mind without my help (absolutely critical to the creative process) is to occupy my hands with some task – it’s a little like breathing into a paper bag when you can’t catch your breath. My mind – like my body – works very well when I quit trying to drive it. My best problem solutions come in the middle of the night; new ideas come when my mind feels empty (of me). Hmm. A little like being open to God and seeing what comes of it. Cool.
Andy – you’re my first commenter. Hmmmm… seems like a prize is in order. How about an adult beverage at Extravaganza?
Margaret – so true. I’ve heard it called “Thinking with your hands.”
thanks for this… needed to read it today… my creativity has been stirring up some unintentional panic situations this past week. Ah. holidays & church ministry.
This is a really helpful post, Michael. I’m in the throws of a powerful (but exhausting) curriculum-writing project that requires a TON of creativity. Thanks to this article, my new mantra is, “Learning that Lives and Moves”. Thanks for keeping my creative juices flowing!
I’m a fan of to-dos, too! I keep mine on rememberthemilk.com, which is then integrated into gmail (with their Firefox add-on) so I see my tasks every time I’m looking at email (which is often!). Love that I can easily track short-term and recurring tasks in the same place.
I’m only trying to write weekly and I run into that feeling often!
What opens my mind without my help (absolutely critical to the creative process) is to occupy my hands with some task – it’s a little like breathing into a paper bag when you can’t catch your breath. My mind – like my body – works very well when I quit trying to drive it. My best problem solutions come in the middle of the night; new ideas come when my mind feels empty (of me). Hmm. A little like being open to God and seeing what comes of it. Cool.
Andy – you’re my first commenter. Hmmmm… seems like a prize is in order. How about an adult beverage at Extravaganza?
Margaret – so true. I’ve heard it called “Thinking with your hands.”
thanks for this… needed to read it today… my creativity has been stirring up some unintentional panic situations this past week. Ah. holidays & church ministry.
This is a really helpful post, Michael. I’m in the throws of a powerful (but exhausting) curriculum-writing project that requires a TON of creativity. Thanks to this article, my new mantra is, “Learning that Lives and Moves”. Thanks for keeping my creative juices flowing!
Your number 11 just gave me a great gift idea for my husband. Thanks for the creative inspiration!
I’m a fan of to-dos, too! I keep mine on rememberthemilk.com, which is then integrated into gmail (with their Firefox add-on) so I see my tasks every time I’m looking at email (which is often!). Love that I can easily track short-term and recurring tasks in the same place.
Plus, Dawn is just generally one of the best all around people I know!
In other words, what don’t you know, that you don’t know!
A belated thank you for the shout out. I appreciate you too!
No bad days, just bad moments.
I’ve worked on some goals, so I need to start and end with “What will I do to reach those goals” and “What have I done to reach those goals?”