201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders
No Idea Left Behind: 25 Tools for Capturing Ideas Anywhere As a serial entrepreneur, I’m addicted to ideas. I feed off of ’em. And nothing makes me more upset than having a great idea… and losing it. Ideas never happen at opportune times, and having the proper idea capture tools can make sure that you’ll capture all your ideas for later processing. The problem with ideas is that they’re situational. In order to capture every single little idea that we have, we’ll need to take a multi-pronged approach to capturing the little bits of genius that we have throughout our day. I should note that we’re not talking about complex systems like mind mapping and other GTD systems. Analog Idea Capture Analog idea capturing is the oldest and one of the most useful forms of idea capture. Hipster PDA. Pocket Briefcase. Moleskine. Rite in the Rain notepad Rite in the Rain. Write boards. Sticky notes. Mac Software Mac users pride themselves on the amount and quality of organization and productivity apps. Quicksilver appending to text file. Quicksilver. OmniFocus.
Use Image Searches Like a Thesaurus to Overcome Your Creative Blocks Are there empirical studies about how to be creative? Isn't it completely subjective and personal? yup. Creativity can't be "personal" anyways, as in order for something to be creative it has to be unique to a certain extent, which requires context and comparison. So then what do you think of the content of this article? Going to have to agree with you there. 8 Methods to Find Inspiration Tim @ Mini Life Hacks suggested I write a following up article from my guest post about 8 Steps to Inspire Others . Thanks for that suggestion Tim, I’ll first cover the methods to find inspiration in this article and my next one will cover how to take action on that inspiration. Please consider sharing this article if you enjoy it and feel free to sign up for my RSS feed here. Search Out New Experiences Inspiration comes about because of change or seeing the possibility of change. If you always do the same things, this will be either minimal or non-existent. Nature and God’s creations Creative art and writing Stylish music and sound Innovation and brain science Life impact stories ( Arswino always has great examples of that at his blog ) Underdog stories. These are just a few and everyone will have their own personal favorites that interest and inspire them. Keep An Open Mind Once you do find new experiences, the unknown often drives fear or a defensive attitude towards it.
50 Ways to Find Inspiration: Create, Explore, Expand “If we look at the world with a love of life, the world will reveal its beauty to us.” ~Daisaku Ikeda I have always loved that scene in American Beauty when Ricky Fitts shows his video of a plastic bag blowing in the wind. He’s the complete opposite of his neighbor Lester Burnham, who seems to have decided long ago to live life in a comatose state of submission, completely disconnected from authentic joy. Ricky seems inspired by everything that most people simply overlook. “It was one of those days when it’s a minute away from snowing and there’s this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. “And that’s the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and… this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Though it can look different for all of us, I suspect this is the feeling we wait for in life: a sense that there’s boundless beauty out there, and we have the capacity to feel, channel, explore, and express it. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Everyday Creativity The tattoo artists throughout Russia's prison system have never had lessons in painting technique (nor, apparently, hygiene training). They don't have ink and tools at their disposal. And yet they create entire murals on one another's chests and backs: onion-domed cathedrals, intricate cobwebs, chilly grim reapers. And they're not just beautiful decorations—they are coded biographies, telling those in the know their bearer's history and affiliations. One would be hard-pressed to find a tougher environment than the jails where these artists work. When we think of creativity , we think of Mozart, Picasso, Einstein—people with a seemingly fated convergence of talent and opportunity. Some do so every day. Herzog is director of the Institute for Security and Open Methodologies, a nonprofit dedicated to researching how security works in all aspects of our lives. "Every day, we use language to speak sentences that have never been spoken before.
7 Ways to Cultivate Your Creativity [Slide Show]: Scientific American Slideshows Email Order now to receive an issue of Scientific American MIND , risk-free, with no obligation to buy. » Get your risk-free issue today....[ More ] Give a Gift & Get a Gift - Free! Give a 1 year subscription as low as $9.99 Learn How to Think Different(ly) - Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen by Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen | 10:24 AM September 27, 2011 In the Economist review of our book, The Innovator’s DNA, the reviewer wondered whether genius-level innovators such as Marc Benioff, Jeff Bezos, and Steve Jobs challenge the idea that working adults can really learn how to think differently and become innovators. We don’t think so. Remember, it was Steve Jobs who jump-started the now-famous “Think Different” advertising campaign as a way to inspire consumers and recharge Apple’s innovation efforts. Reams of relevant research (including our own) proves Jobs right. But neither Steve Jobs nor Apple nor any other high-profile innovator or company has a corner on the think-different market. Take Gavin Symanowitz, whom we recently met in South Africa. Innovators (of new businesses, products, and processes) spend almost 50% more time trying to think different compared to non-innovators. Just do It. Shake it up. Repeat. As a leader, how often do you think different?
35 Great iPad Apps for Designers, Geeks and Creative Individuals - Creative Can Creative Can Because of its mobility and large array of useful apps available, iPad has become very popular these days, and this trend is not likely to end anytime soon. With the capability that almost rivals desktops, iPads, have also become the gadget of choice of designers while on the go. With the help of some iPad apps, designers, geeks and creative individuals can now do their job while away from their workstations. Here, we are showcasing some of the great iPad apps for designers and other creatives to use while on the go. You will find here apps for mock-ups, sketching, social media, web development and etc. that you can use to accomplish varied tasks. Wireframing, Mind Mapping and Productivity Apps iMockups for iPad iMockups for iPad is the premiere mobile wireframing and mockup app for your web, iPhone and iPad projects. OmniGraffle Need to create a quick diagram, process chart, page layout, website wireframe, or graphic design? MindNode Dropbox Air Display Moodboard Evernote Ignition iDesign Draft
Best of Breed Idea Management Software has 10 Key Elements: A Check List For Your Demonstrations. Thinking about getting an idea management system? Here’s your feature/function check list. Of course you should still poll your user community and get their feedback to see what they need. But after you’re done, I bet you a nickel you’ll end up with a list like this one. Print it out and check off the items during your demonstrations. The Key Elements of Ideation: Living in the Ideagora… Terms: Some quick terms you might want to show off that you know…When you get your idea management software system, your collaborative team will be comprised of Innovation Managers and Ideators. 1. 2. 3. OK, I couldn’t think of a better heading for this section but this is what I’m talking about…You need to be able to bookmark any of the objects in the system (files, ideas, challenges). 4. 5. Thinking about getting an idea management system? 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Speaking of integration, can the idea management software system bring in twitter and RSS feeds? Next up? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Tools&Methods « Visualizing the Invisible Using Large Screens for Brainstoming Posted by Michael Koch in Academic, Tools&Methods on September 21, 2010 Lets start with an interesting project in the ModLab at University Bochum. As stated in the earlier post, the researchers in Bochum are working on using large interactive screens in modeling workshops. At CRIWG 2010 (see paper in Springer Link: they presented a brainstorming tool to help in brainstorming phases during modeling. The interesting aspects of the tool: integrated in modeling tool (SeeMe) – so you can continue to work with the ideas generated during the brainstorming session in the (process) model workshop participants can use different devices to enter data – whatever they have at hand: laptops (via WiFi), smart phones, iphones … The presentation of this tool made me look for other brainstorming solutions for large (interactive) screens and mobile devices (for data entry). brainstomring, modlab, seeme, tools