As tech professionals, what we need is a way to work better so that we can create more, right? Through exploring various concepts and approaches, including the neuroscience of creativity, productivity techniques, and emerging practices that spur innovation, we'll discover not only the ways in which our brains work best, but also what’s behind the times when we feel on fire with creativity and when we don't. We’ll translate this information into processes and techniques for dramatically enhanced creative productivity. Beware: this session challenges the standard norms around concentration, focus, productivity, and may change how you work…for the better.
41. “If your demons are such that they fill
the room the instant you contemplate
creating, your studio will be too
dangerous a place to enter.”
Eric Maisel, author of Fearless Creating
42. How to ID your Inner Critic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdachialpha/203904103/
43. “I should have done more by now…”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/automania/126698126/
52. “Fear is not real. It is a
product of the
thoughts you create.
Do not misunderstand
me.
Danger is very real.
But fear is a choice.”
- character of Cypher Raige, After Earth
http://culturecatch.com/files/images/after-earth.jpg
53. Hack >> Become a Fear Alchemist
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist.jpg
54. “The goal is to manage anxiety so that
our energies are used for the
productive and satisfying (act) of
creating, rather than the destructive
and debilitating art of self-torture.”
Clare Warmke, Idea Revolution
55. Banish Your Inner Critic!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31505964@N08/4691019168/
56. “The parts of your brain that are
responsible for self-monitoring are literally
turned off during creative
endeavors….Creative people have
mastered the art of turning off [the
inhibitive] part of their brains to let their
ideas flow more smoothly, unleashing their
imagination.”
Tina Seelig, InGenius
57. Hack >> Say NO to Comparisons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suvodeb/2559017400/
69. “Our bodies change our minds,
our minds change our behavior,
and our behavior changes our
outcomes.”
Amy Cuddy, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are
TED talk
71. Stand up. Assume a pose that embodies a sense of defeat,
can’t do it, it will never work, “I suck/I’m no good/an
impostor”, etc. Make yourself as small and powerless feeling
as possible.
Then, strike a power pose. Imagine yourself as a superhero
looking off into the distance seeing your destiny of major
creative butt-kicking.
Alternate several times. Hold the power pose for as long as you
can so that you can feel the change.
#Exercise: Power Pose
80. 13-30 cps/Hz
Waking alert conscious
thinking, external sensory
focus, concentration.
Computing, arranging,
organizing, make sense
of external world.
Prolongation of beta can
lead to exhaustion,
anxiety and tension.
Beta
81. 8-12 cps/Hz
Alert and lucid but
relaxed thought,
daydreaming, light
meditation, internal
focus, receptive state,
visualization, creativity,
accelerated or super-
learning, increased
serotonin levels.
Alpha
82. 4-7.5 cps/Hz
High states of creativity,
subconscious creativity,
deep relaxation/
meditation, intuition,
long-term memory, vivid
visual imagery, creative
inspiration, free idea
flow, REM dream and
deep sleep.
Theta
83. 0.1-4 cps/Hz
Intuition and insight,
transcendental
meditation, physical
rejuvenation and healing,
expansive awareness.
Most often found in deep
dreamless sleep and
unconscious states.
Delta
84. 31-120 cps/Hz
Hyper brain activity and
alertness, aha moment,
super clarity, above
average integration of
sensory information,
euphoria, sometimes
anxiety.
Gamma
86. Close your eyes and relax. Breathe through your nose.
Now place your tongue at the roof of your mouth,
turn your eyes towards the ceiling underneath your
eyelids.
Take several deep, long breaths.
As you relax, you are changing your brainwaves from
Beta to Alpha.
#Exercise: Enter Alpha
106. Clean up your work habit field by following the suggestions in
the article “Habit Fields” by Jack Cheng. Create your
equivalent of a “distraction chair” and move to it when you
feel like you are inclined to surf the web, email, Tweet,
Facebook, or engage in any other computer-related
distraction. When you are ready to work again, come back to
your desk.
Rinse and repeat until your work habit field is clear again and
no longer fuzzy.
Hack >> Habit field reboot
136. • Concept in mind: know what you want to achieve
and what it looks like
• Practice in place
• Cleared space
• Time carved out and distractions eliminated
• Necessary materials on hand
All of the previous steps lead you here:
142. “…the confidence that, when
given a difficult problem, we have
a methodology that enables us to
come up with a solution that
nobody has before.”
David Kelley of Ideo
146. “Creativity makes day to day
experiences more vivid, more
enjoyable, more rewarding. When we
live creatively, boredom is banished
and every moment holds the promise
of a fresh discovery.”
Mihali Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity
147. Let out all of your great ideas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/
149. The End…? (or is just the beginning?)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/imuttoo/232100469/
150. My upcoming book!
Banish Your Inner
Critic
DeniseJacobs.com/InnerCritic
26 Effective Techniques for
Unleashing Productive
Creativity
151. THE CREATIVE DOSE
A Creativity + Innovation Collective
Work Better. Create More. Create Betterness.
Creative Thinking & Problem-solving
Creative Collaboration & Innovation Mindset
Team Communication & Cohesion
Speaking Skills & Executive Coaching
TheCreativeDose.com
@thecreativedose
152. DeniseJacobs.com
à Sign up on my mailing list here!
denise@denisejacobs.com
twitter.com/denisejacobs
facebook.com/denisejacobsdotcom
slideshare.net/denisejacobs
Connect, Chat, and Collaborate!
Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/