Happy Creative New Year!
It’s hard to believe that it’s that time of the year again, but here we are. Time to celebrate the highs of 2022 and gear up for 2023. But perhaps this year, rather than the usual get fitter and eat healthier resolutions, why not prepare for the bigger things that may come your way in 2023 and shake things up with some creativity resolutions. According to the World Economic Forum and some of the world’s largest employers its number one skill needed for the future and based on data from is +20 million job ads, LinkedIn once labelled it “the most important skill in the world”.
1. Enjoy some mind-wandering
Mind-wandering or daydreaming. It’s the focus of a lot of research in the creativity space and if it’s positive or fantastical it can improve your creativity. It will also help you to have more of those of those epiphany or ah-ha moments. So next time you’re on the bus or train, put your phone down, look out the window and choose your own daydream adventure.
2. Immerse yourself in another culture
Getting to know more about the beliefs, customs, language, or values of another culture is another way that has been shown to positively effect creativity. But before you book the next flight to Vietnam, unless you’re planning on living there for a period, a holiday alone might not be enough of an immersion. The good news is building a close personal or romantic relationship with someone from a different culture can also increase creativity so if you’re on the lookout for a new buddy or romantic partner in 2023, think outside of your culture box.
3. Doodle
Squiggly lines, spirals, cubes, writing over words, basically any mark on a page that isn’t actively taking notes is good for creativity. In a Wall Street Journal article, The Power of the Doodle: Improve Your Focus and Memory, author Sue Shallenberger writes, “that doodling can help people stay focused, grasp new concepts and retain information. A blank page also can serve as an extended playing field for the brain, allowing people to revise and improve on creative thoughts and ideas.” If you’re a doodler, keep doodling. If you’re not, have pen and paper on hand in your next video conference and give doodling a go while you listen in.
4. Make up stories
It doesn’t need to be a novel. It doesn’t even need to be written down. By making up stories, you’re imagining new worlds or imaging the perspectives of others and in doing this, you’re improving creativity by “imagining radically different possibilities.” Says Angus Fletcher a Professor of English at Ohio State University, who along with his colleague Mike Benveniste, has developed a training program that is being piloted with the US Army. The premise of narratives and telling stories is that in thinking of different possibilities in can assist to “prepare people for new challenges that we know little about today.”
5. Do Nothing
Is there a resolution sweeter sounding than this? A study of physicists and professional writers from the University of York and the University of Florida found more than 40% of our creative ideas come during breaks and downtime when our minds are free to wander. And those good ideas that come to us in the shower? Researcher John Kounios states that “when you stop thinking deliberately about a problem or daydream a little, your subconscious has a chance to play. And the shower is the ideal incubator of great ideas. You have some mild sensory deprivation. You can’t see very much. There’s the white noise of the water. The water is warm so you can’t feel the difference between your skin and the air. This sensory restriction is like an extended brain blink. You cut out the outside world and ideas bubble up into awareness.”
So, whether you’re stepping tentatively or with confidence in to 2023, there’s a place and a need for creative thinking. Pop these on your list. Easier than going for a run and definitely more enjoyable than eating a salad.