Does Multi-Tasking Kill Creativity?

Starting Monday with a laugh and a note to self: Creativity asks for room to breathe! Give your muse some space and your creativity/productivity is bound to soar.

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Creativity and the Brain: Relaxation Brain Wave a Critical Component

A friend recently shared an article from Prime Number Magazine by entomologist and author Elizabeth Bernays entitled “Your Brain Knows More than You Do.” It’s a piece that merges the familiar theory behind exercises like “timed” and “automatic” writing that are often used at writing workshops to subvert the stubborn self-editing process  with current brain research into “eureka” moments.  Neurobiologists are closing in on the physiology of aha:

According to the neurobiologists at work on this problem, there has first to be some focus on the issue, allowing new associations to get to work. Then there has to be some relaxation in the cortex, letting the more remote ideas in the right cortex provide new insight, and allowing the brain to become more receptive to new and unusual ideas. In fact, such relaxation can be monitored by its own type of brain wave, and it is possible to predict which subjects will come up with a new insight by examining which of them is indulging in the appropriate relaxation of focused thoughts.

Focus followed by relaxation–not a new concept among creative types–but finally for those folks that need convincing, a definitive reason to take that walk, soak in a soothing bath or enjoy yourself.   Step away from that project and give your cortex permission to relax!
Photo credit: wcizmowski from morguefile.com

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Observation Marketing–Clearing the Clutter to Get to the Customer

Do you sometimes think that in order to get attention in today’s overloaded book and music industry you need some unusual gimmick, some wild guerrilla marketing tactic or persistent and exhausting self-marketing and follow-up to cut through the clutter in the marketplace?

True, there are more choices than ever out there and building a fan base can be a tricky task.  But what most people forget is the value of taking time to OBSERVE the clutter surrounding potential customers/fans and how they navigate it.   Do your potential customers/fans tune in or tune out when confronted with certain techniques?  Will the tactics you are considering turn them on or turn them off?

“We don’t know who discovered water, but we know it wasn’t the fish.” ~Marshall McLuhan

Before you dive in, stand back and observe.

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Brain Activity + Creativity= Complicated Lives?

A study discussed in this Physorg.com article indicates that trained musicians may think differently than non-musicians mainly because they use both sides of their brain more frequently.   Another article in Scientific American referring to the same research jokingly turns increased brain activity into quirkiness and quotes a comical warning from a big city magazine:

At the top of The New Yorker magazine’s entertainment listings is this warning:  “Musicians live complicated lives…; it’s advisable to call ahead to confirm engagements.”

Does the divergent thinking process characteristic of most skilled musicians end up complicating their lives as this tongue-in-cheek comment suggests?  Or are they just more accepting of the inherent chaos necessary to innovate and create and can “flow” with it — experiencing a quality of deep concentration, focus and loss of a sense of time that most of us who live and work  predominantly from our left brains translate at quirky and inattentive? Here’s an interesting look at Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Theory:

 

Watch the entire TED talk  if you’re really  in the flow.

 

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The Brain Craves Novelty–50 Tips for Increasing Creativity at Work

Need to light that bulb, get the creative juices flowing? Brain Leaders and Learners offers a boat-load of ideas for increasing creativity at work by giving the brain what it want and needs–novelty.  Here are a few to get you started:

1 – Step up with confidence.

• Replace fears, fueled by dangerous cortisol, with confidence that comes through serotonin.

2 – Join a social media group.

• While brains default back to ruts, human minds also hold equipment for rejuvenation.

3 – Ask advice from a novice.

• Mind-bending revelations open to those who question, and curiosity enables adventure guided by great questions.

4 – Don’t try to avoid risks.

• Dynamic neuro discoveries can help to create new cutting edge tools for improved leading and learning.

5 – Reconsider negative opinions.

• To live more successful realities is also to accept fewer myths from cynics who reduce brainpower for renewal.

READ the REST…

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Personal Creative Energy Crisis–Are We Breaking All the Brain Rules?

I’ve been noticing a lot of distracted people lately who just can’t seem to stay on top of any of the details of their lives. Their energy is stretched beyond the demands of just getting through the day, hence they do not have time for their normal creative endeavors. And that makes them cranky and distressed.

For me, an increase in life-tasks coupled with an ebb in personal energy manifests in “back-burnering” my more personal creative projects. The fiction writing, the interesting topics, the business-building planning that I enjoy more than more mundane work tasks that are not as energizing. But I just can’t seem to get ahead so I can make time for the fun stuff. And that just makes me more frustrated.

Intuitively, I know I’m zapping my own creative energy by trying to work harder and catch up rather than working smarter and making time for what my body, mind and spirit need. When I ran across Dr. John Medina’s book Brain Rules, the science confirms my intuition. We don’t have more to do, we are just breaking all the rules. After watching this video, I think I opt for the bouncy ball in the office–what do you think?

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The Creative Power of Sync

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This past week a client of mine has been living what Seth Godin talks about in a recent blog post–the power of getting critical mass from even a small group doing something together. Seth’s Blog: The power of sync.

When this client flew cross-country to perform at a music festival and discovered an organization in meltdown and performers withdrawing from the event for fear of not being paid, my client decided to forge ahead. He felt that in the absence of the full story, the fans and organizers of the event should be supported. “They need me,” he said. Worries about finances took a back seat to the needs of the entire festival community.

What happened from there illustrates the Power of Sync beautifully. Rather than fly away disheartened, the musician launched a spontaneous tour starting from the fated festival, and riding a wave of heartfelt fan response from town-to-town. He encouraged everyone to participate and create a “fiasco” at each show. The creative response was stunning! Posters, merchandise, video, songs and more blossomed overnight. The fans identified, connected and were thrilled to contribute in any way they could. By tapping into the Power of Sync, this artist recouped his lost income and expenses, but even more importantly, he gave his fans the gift of participating in a delightful, dynamic event.

The Power of Sync is all about connecting people together and making them feel a part of something greater. How can you make synchronicity work for you as a creative entrepreneur?

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Too Many Music Social Networks? Which Ones Work?

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Readers respond to Heather McDonald’s question on about.com and share their experiences with social networking to promote their music. There may be some here you don’t know about!

Which Social Networking Sites Are Best for Music Promotion?.

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Cultivate New Perspectives to Jumpstart Creativity

Changes in scenery and perspective do more than just boost morale–they can lift thinking out of the ruts that scientists now know are a part of how the brain operates. Feeding the brain new experiences and information at any age and during any part of the creative process can jolt the brain out of its “experience-dependent categorization” pattern and stimulate new ideas.  

Here are some simple and practical ideas collected by Robyn McMaster on Brain Based Biz  for adjusting your perspective to jumpstart creativity:

Musical – Music Can Move Your Brian Waves to Benefit You

Logical-mathematical – Your Brain on Numbers

Spatial – Color Your Banner – Color Your Brain!

Naturalistic – Nature Nurtures the Mind

Interpersonal – Want to Ratchet Up Your Networking? – tips by Darren Rowse

Verbal-linguistic – Find Oomph in Creative Editing – tips by Joanna Young

Bodily-kinesthetic – Play to Recharge Your Brain

Intrapersonal – Treat Myself – Lyrics to Inspire

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Channeling Creative Energy–Connecting Anecdote with Reflection

I have recently been reintroduced to Ira Glass of “This American Life,” specifically to his series on storytelling.  As I’ve pondered the role of stories in our lives, I can’t help but think about the particular role of story in business and the arts.  Is success in any realm the same as creating a great story?

Glass’ description of connecting anecdote or sequence of events with a moment of meaningful reflection, i.e. creating something new that is “larger than the sum of its parts” struck me as a pertinent lesson for everyone engaged in the creative process.  Seems to me this explains why so many great ideas die on the drawing board–without relevance they are simply Thoreau’s “castles in the air.”  If you attest to this concept of our lives as stories however, take one part anecdote and add a meaningful insight, and you may just have begun to build the foundation of a successful story wherever you choose to channel your creative energy.  

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Henry David Thoreau

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