A client recently asked how to get their creative mind going first thing in the morning. We equate this with getting the day started in a positive, productive and engaged manner.
Creativity is naturally influenced by the work and play we do with our mind and body. Therefore, starting the day by engaging both the mind and body is a smart way to warm-up and prep your creative mind for success.
First thing, right out of bed, get your body moving. One of our partners, for instance does 20 push-ups and 30-40 squats, another begins with 20 minutes of yoga, yet another splits wood and loads his wood fired boiler before heading in to the office. All of this physical activity gets blood moving to the brain, stimulating the mind. What might be all of the ways for your to get your body engaged?
Next, drink a glass of water (as a general rule people are dehydrated and the first bodily function that suffers from any level of dehydration is the mental/cognitive function-got to keep the brain hydrated). And, hey, you're thirsty after getting your body moving anyway, right?
Lastly, take a bit of time (30 seconds to 10 minutes) to focus your attention; this can be anything from simply answering the questions, "What is today about?" or "What am I focusing on today?", to doing 10 minutes of meditation/focused mental concentration, or even any sort of brain puzzle... the point is to get blood flowing by activating various areas of your brain.
3 Easy Steps to Wake up your Creative Mind:
- Move your body
- Drink water
- Mental focus
If you want to get more specific about mental focus you can activate your brain's left hemisphere and right hemisphere. You can activate the left hemisphere by playing word games, like rhyming and speaking fluidly with free association (the left hemisphere contains 2 primary language centers, Broca's area and Wernicke's area and, though the entire brain is engaged in language in many ways, the specificity of word structure activates more in the left hemisphere). You can activate the right hemisphere by free associating with mental/visual images of objects, spaces, or maps (the right hemisphere focuses more on spatial, object and big picture understanding, though again the whole brain can be involved).
Advanced Mental Focus:
- Play with words and talk to yourself (but not in the grocer store)
- Imagine spatial things and relationships
Taking the extra 5-10 minutes in the morning will yield positve mental and physical energy to set up your creative energy and thoughts for the day. Now your mind is warmed up and ready to apply creative problem tools and techniques to help to spark new thinking.
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