Hot Times at Old Town

Appearing below are selections from the hard copy Hot Times. The objective is to highlight activities at the School and in the larger community, especially those featuring or of special interest to teachers and staff. Your suggestions are welcome. Enter a comment (under any item); it will come to me rather than automatically appearing.

Improve your creativity!

You’ve noticed that you’re most creative in the early morning? Yep, it’s true for most of us. Ideas pop into mind when we’re just awakening. The reason: that’s when our mind is getting itself organized. That’s when we’re most open to new insights.

You may also have noticed that taking a shower has a similar effect. You’re standing there, streams of hot water on your back, and BANG! another new idea or insight. The reason could be more of the early morning effect. Or maybe you it’s a kinesthetic effect.

That means your mind is affected by movement. Writers often notice this. They sit down at their desk with notes and concepts, planning to write. But something happens. The ideas that excited them when out for a walk or a drive have lost all signs of life, and their thoughts have become motionless sludge.

It turns out that about a third of the population think best on their feet or when they’re in motion. Thomas Jefferson used a standing desk, as did Virginia Woolf and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. (OK, no guarantee on the quality of the resultant thinking).

Thinking about the kinesthetic effect leads to ways to improve our creative processes:

- Consider a standing desk (good for your back too)
- When on a project, try pacing around every half hour or so
- Take a walk or a drive every day without needing a reason
- Always carry a pad or recorder for saving ideas while out
- Remember to transcribe ideas while they’re fresh
- Plan breaks or tiny errands to shake up your thinking
- Exercize regularly – or just stretch!

If you’re the one in three people who have a kinesthetic learning style, you’ll probaby need to do some or all of the above. But all of us can benefit from anything that keeps our minds fresh, and creates new pathways for the creative flow. (The writer stands, stretches, and heads to the kitchen before resuming his work).

Filed under: Practice tips by Skip | July 9, 2009 | Comments (0)


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