We always know we need or want to be creative to solve complex problems, to fuel innovation, and to get ahead. But we’re in hurry. There is too much on our plate and too little time. So we seek to be fast and focused, in short trying to be more efficient. Unfortunately, an over-emphasis on efficiency tends to kill creativity.
Creativity is the fuel for innovation, that “aha” moment. It is the raw ideas and the messy brilliance that turns into innovation — something new and different from the market values and for which people will pay. It’s not about working efficiently to find an aha moment, rather the creative process must include time for reflection and quiet moments of rumination, and time for ideas to be on our brains.
Have you noticed an “Aha” moment while taking a shower, only if you allow yourself to engage in showering with your thoughts, not with your mobile, or TV?
In reality, the idea didn’t come out of anywhere. It was the result of seeds planted in our brain over time and the power of our neuropathways to connect thoughts in new and surprising ways.
Connecting diverse ideas
Creativity arises when we put unlike things together — when previously disconnected ideas are combined. This is why a solution may come from the person who just joined the project and doesn’t have the constraints for those already deeply embedded in it. And this is why those with the most diverse networks often bring forth unexpected ideas that help solve a problem in a new way.
Leonardo Da Vinci always had a group of people working under him, he would paint and even some of his paintings were finished by his students. He worked with them sharing his experiences, teaching them, and even learning from them. He often shared his projects with his students which enabled him to give new insights and new perceptions.
Take time to reflect
Because we’re always connected, and always have devices in our hands, we’ve lost our in-between moments for reflection. Standing in line at the dry cleaner we can check our email, and during our commute, we can be on a conference call (hands-free) with our coworkers.
Filling every minute of every day in the name of efficiency gets in the way of time when the brain can breather, consider, and ponder. Resist the urge to be “on” every moment and allow for in-between times that give our time to reflect.
A lot of great thinkers always believed in the time to reflect, from Seneca to Marcus Aurelius. Benjamin Franklin to Leonardo Da Vinci, always took their time to reflect on their day. They believed in continually striving to become better human beings. They were highly reflective and critical of their actions in an attempt to recognize aspects of their lives or their character that could be improved. A big part of this was the practice of evening reflection
Connect with People unlike yourself
Often, workdays are spent with people who think like you do whether they are part of your company, your industry, or your function. This is great for efficiency because shared thinking and similar worldviews help us to go fast. But to be more creative you should also be intentional about connecting with people who are less like you. Find people who do different work, spend their time in different places, and think differently than you do. Their new ideas will spur your own thinking.
There are many billion-dollar companies that were part of conversations, an idea is generated when we talk, listen or share our thoughts with different people. When we listen or speak about something we tend to validate the thoughts in our mind, which tend to create generate new thoughts when we visualize the same thing from a different perspective.
Leonardo Da Vinci always spent his elder days with like-minded people. From Salai to Giovanni they were certainly not as Polymath as Leonardo DaVinci but they certainly had a lot of vision in Art.
Seek unexpected experiences
We tend to seek routine and get into predictable patterns of activity. From week to week, things go along in pretty much the same way. You can be more creative, however, by seeking experiences out of your norm. Take a different route to work, sign up for a class outside your comfort zone, or immerse yourself in a vacation to an unusual destination. Whether it’s small changes like riding your bike instead of taking the subway or bigger endeavors like going to a silent yoga retreat for spring break, unusual experiences will help you be more creative.
Leonardo Da Vinci was not the man who always painted. He was beyond a painter, being Multipotentiality he not only focused on crafting his arts but also looked at his art through the terms of mathematics and Physics. He enjoyed observing nature to try to figure out the answers to questions such as how birds were able to fly. Leonardo dissected animals and participated in the dissection of human cadavers to learn about anatomy. He completed experiments, such as those involving fluids.
Express creativity outside of work.
It can be tough to call on your creativity at work if you rarely tap into your innovative spirit in other parts of your life. In addition, different expressions of creativity can build your creative muscle and actually make your brain more efficient according to a study in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. For this reason, it’s smart to express yourself through non-work pursuits. Whether you’re developing a photo book of your vacation pictures, learning a new language, or taking a dance class, these kinds of activities can keep your creativity fresh for outlets at work.
Leonardo Da Vinci studied anatomy to better understand musculature. He studied physics to learn how light reflects off a subject. He studied chemistry to create the perfect paints. Over the course of his life, Da Vinci filled more than seven thousand notebook pages with sketches and writing.
Find places that feed you.
Evolutionarily speaking, our ancestors have spent millennia in the wild surviving. Yet today, we show up to white-collar jobs and sit in drab offices. Our brains are so terribly bored. Be sure you find places that stimulate you. Get away from your desk and work side-by-side with colleagues in your company’s work café or have your meeting in the comfy space near the window rather than the standard conference room. In addition, go to the beach, sit in the park or find a forest path where you can take time away.
While Leonardo da Vinci always toured Italy he often lived the places where he was born, where he worked, and where his works are preserved. The tour must allow for an opportunity to go deeper into the landscapes and the historical and cultural climates that inspired him: the Tuscan lands of the Renaissance and 15th-century Florence where, as a young man, he moved to work in the studio of Verrocchio and learned the arts of painting, drawing, and sculpture, while immersing himself in the literary and philosophical cultures of the time.
Get some sleep.
Resting is also critical to the creative process. New research published in Trends in Creative Sciences Journal suggests it boosts creative problem-solving. Efficiency may dictate you stay up until all hours getting the project done or rise at the crack of dawn to get ahead of your emails, but you’ll compromise creativity. Sleep is good for the brain and helps cull thoughts and cement synapses. Rest well to think well.
Ultimately, a hurry-up, all-on, all-the-time focus on efficiency will undermine creativity. You’ll go farther, faster — going slow to go fast — if you make time to reflect and connect with people outside your usual circle. Seek unexpected experiences and places and be sure to rest to be your most creative.
Da Vinci followed an extreme form of a polyphasic sleep schedule called the Uberman sleep cycle, which consists of 20-minute naps every four hours.
This unconventional sleep cycle may have given the artist/inventor/scientist more awake time during his days but could have also made it difficult for him to work on long-term projects.
Allegedly, Leonardo da Vinci and Nikola Tesla stuck to an almost impossibly strenuous sleep cycle. While the pre-Industrial segmented sleepers had a biphasic routine (hitting the pillow twice a day), da Vinci and Tesla practiced the most intense example of polyphasic sleeping (bedtime more than three times in a day). Their routine of choice, reportedly? The Uberman cycle.
This cycle consists of taking six 20-minute naps, evenly distributed, throughout your day.
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Decoding valuable lessons from some of the Greatest Thinkers.
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