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.
32. Let out all of your great ideas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/
33. “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
49. “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
59. “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
(played by Will Smith), After
Earth
60. We become terrorists to ourselves
http://www.flickr.com/photos/koomatuomio/4182554398/
61. “Obsessing about preventing bad
things from happening also
prevents good things from
happening, or sometimes
prevents anything from
happening at all.”
- Scott Berkun, The Year Without
Pants
62. Hack >> Become a Fear Alchemist
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist.jpg
63. “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
64. Banish the Inner Critic
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70. Change your body language, change your mind
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71. “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
72. Fake it until you become it
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mangee/195050727/
73. #Exercise: Power Pose
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.
74. Adjust: Train Your Brain
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/3211540197/
75. Let’s take a closer look
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76. Left v. Right brain?
http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=left%20brain%20right%20brain&order=9&offset=48#/d10qlpq
79. Instead: Left + Right brain = Creativity
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47691521@N07/4639590640/
80. “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
81. What are our brains constantly producing?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cblue98/7254347346/
84. #Exercise: Enter Alpha
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.
85. Hack >> Breathe to refocus
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guiniveretoo/1573049301/
86. Hack >> Being prone
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snazzy54/4581347651/
94. “When you are playful, you are
activating the right side of your
brain. The logical brain is a
limited brain. The right side is
unlimited. You can (do and ) be
anything you want.”
- Madan Kataria, The Laughter
Guru
102. #Exercise: To Don’t List
To do more of what you love and less of what you dislike,
start writing To Don’t Lists (aka “Stop Doing” Lists).
Pick a partner, and write a list of 3-5 items that you commit to
stop doing within the next 30 days. Date the list. Share the
list with your partner and get ideas on how to eliminate
these items from your life either by stopping them or
delegating/outsourcing the tasks.
Review your list in 30 days to see what you need to continue
to stop doing so that your time is spent on what you value
and want to cultivate. Create another list for the upcoming
30 days.
105. Hack >> Habit field reboot
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.
115. Hack >> Pomodoro 2.0
Practice the Pomodoro technique. Do a 30 minute sprint
where you turn off all distractions and work for 25 minutes.
Before you start your sprint, write down the objective of the
sprint. Do the sprint, and at the end of it, take a moment to
jot down any challenges encountered, and your end results
from the sprint.
For your 5 minute break, activate your Alpha brainwaves by
either laying down on the floor with your eyes closed, or
look at clouds shifting in the sky.
116. Hack >> Work standing up
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rknight/2645099486/
160. The stage is set for Flow
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgeithner/5290115839/
161. All of the previous steps lead you here:
• 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
169. …which is
“…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
170. Ideas are on and poppin’!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7730492@N03/4957946157/
183. My articles for further reading!
netmagazine.com/features/
four-secrets-enhancingcreative-productivity
alistapart.com/articles/
reigniting-your-creative-spark/
alistapart.com/articles/
banishing-your-inner-critic/
184. Want More?
Sign up for news on my
upcoming book,
projects, other
announcements and
whatnot at
DeniseJacobs.com
185. How to find me on teh Interwebz
DeniseJacobs.com
Sign up on my mailing list here!
denise@denisejacobs.com
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slideshare.net/denisejacobs
Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/