Posts Tagged ‘creativity’

One of the main things I’ve come to realize about getting things done and optimizing my creativity is that organization doesn’t help. To the contrary – it kinda gets in the way. You get so focused on keeping track of everything and being on top of your projects that you lose the flexibility and “looseness” that’s necessary for creativity to flow. You’ve got to let go of the illusion that you’re in control and embrace the uncertainty that’s part of any project in life.

Same with planning. Planning really is guessing and it’s totally useless. Like organization, planning kills creativity, motivation, and productivity. (more…)

I always say that cooking is all about the ingredients. If you take the best ingredients of the highest quality, it almost doesn’t matter how you mix them up together, cook them, or arrange them. Even if you were to just blend them all together there’s a good chance a great smoothie will come out of that.

What really matters is the ingredients. That’s why it’s rewarding when there’s no food left at home but you’re still able to cook up a great meal just from leftovers and random ingredients. It’s because it’s a challenge to make something great without good ingredients and overcoming a challenge is always rewarding. While you can welcome this challenge from time to time, you’ll eat much better food (and get much better results) if you prepare your meals from really good ingredients. (more…)

When brainstorming in a group, people are often afraid to express their take on something because they’re feeling insecure that maybe their idea is not so good. They’re afraid to look bad and that people will think their input is plain useless. So they refrain from “making the jump”.

The thing is that bad ideas are great for unleashing your creative juice! When people are not afraid to look stupid and just bring everything that comes to mind it opens up new channels and helps you think in new and creative ways. (more…)

One of the worst ways to go about getting something done or solving a problem is to look for multiple options.

That’s particularly obvious in the design field. When you’re looking to get a design done, don’t ask “can I see a few options of how that can look?” but rather focus on creating the one design that will be right. Any good designer knows that. So much waste and confusion is created when you don’t work that way. Especially because having seen the few options most people request to combine some elements of one option with some elements from the other option and you end up with a Frankenstein type of design made of disparate pieces. The result is simply not coherent.

I think that the core of this issue comes from a culture of multiple choices. It start in school where most tests consist of multiple choice answers. People end up not exercising their brain to look for the right solution to a problem. Instead they are faced with a selection of choices and they focus on the options. This type of approach is deadly to creativity. (more…)

I recently saw this flyer posted in my neighborhood and found it interesting. The advertiser is very clear about what he is offering, who he is targeting, and how much he charges. After looking at the flyer, you know right away whether or not this is something that you are looking for. For potential clients, this clarity is a great benefit, as for the advertiser he saves time by not having to deal with irrelevant inquiries.

The design of the ad is also very clear and it conveys a clear message. While offering a variety of services, Sean is not offering everything possible in the field of personal assistance – he focused on people who are “busy professionals” looking for a part-time personal assistant, people who need help taking care of a wide variety of tasks. I think there is a great market for this type of services and when narrowing your target population intelligently like Sean does, you can reach a field that is relatively free of competition.

Why not start up a web 2.0 service were busy people can sign up and (more…)

Working long hours in front of a computer can become stressful and monotonous after a while. Not only is it detrimental to your body but it can hinder your creativity. As a designer, having a fresh batch of creativity is very important.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s report on physical activity, exercise can improve mood and performance. Numerous studies have been conducted throughout the years that connect exercise to improved mental ability as well as better productivity in the workplace. (more…)