Get Productive (And Let Your Mind Wander)
- Posted by glen on August 8th, 2006
It seems like whenever I sit down to do a task that requires brainstorming and planning (like writing a blog post), it’s a lot harder to stay focused. Maybe that’s just the ‘ol ADHD kickin’ in, but I’m guessing I’m not the only one out there who has a hard time when it comes to staying focused while mapping out a project. I can sit and stare at a blank screen for hours, and nothing will come to me. Yet there are times when I do some really amazing brainstorming, and I’ve found some constants that are always present when I go on those idea-hatching spurts. The main constant: you need to be doing something else.
The mind is a fickle thing. I’ve found that the brain does not like to be told when to be creative. If you tell it to think, it won’t. But if you’re doing a small task that doesn’t require much thinking, you can bet your mind is working overtime, and it’s working on something completely different than what is in front of you. Here’s an example: last week I drove to my parents house and went running in the country. During the run and half-hour drive each way, I managed to come up with 10 blog posting ideas. They just came to me. I wasn’t thinking about driving because I’ve driven that route a hundred times, and I wasn’t thinking about running because I run all the time, and it’s a fairly automated process.
The trick is planning for times when your mind can wonder. It’s during these times that you’ll be the most creative. While you excercise, driving, household chores, taking a walk, at the beach… this is when you’ll find creativity oozing out of your brain. Odds are you may not even notice that you’re being really creative and productive. If you can become aware of that and always have something close by to write your ideas down on, you’re set.
A wandering mind can be a very, very good thing. You just have to be ready for it.
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August 9th, 2006 at 8:36 am
This a great blog, keep up the good work. Feel free to come check us out.
August 10th, 2006 at 8:59 am
Congratulations on the Blog; I hope the quality of content remains high.
One quick question: The category entitled “Formaing Goals”. Should this be “Forming Goals”?
August 10th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
Good catch James. :)
August 10th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
[...] One problem with the way we typically brainstorm is this: it’s unnatural. We bang our heads against the wall while chanting “think, think”. If you’re like me, your brain doesn’t like to be told what to do. The second I sit down and “make” myself be creative, my brain goes on lockdown. Nothing in, nothing out. There’s no such thing as forced creativity. I’ve found that the best way to allow your mind to form ideas is when I’m doing something else. You have to be ready at anytime to jot something down. I know this point is a lot like #1, but I can’t stress it enough. [...]
August 14th, 2006 at 6:55 am
Yes, I find when I do household chores, or go for a drive, ideas come in torrents. Or instead of fast and shallow, they’ll be narrow and deep and I’ll be thinking about something, wishing I had some way to record my thoughts. (Maybe I should start carrying my pocket recorder again…)
I always have lots of notepads handy while I’m doing housework so I can jot things down. It sucks when you’re trying to do dishes, though. ;)
In any event, there’s a reason people’s best ideas “come in the shower.”
August 14th, 2006 at 7:32 am
Found you through David Rowse and have enjoyed the content–especially the “idea dumping” tips.
August 14th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
[...] This goes along with the wandering mind principle, but my brain really wasn’t wandering. I was focusing it on the upcoming task I had laid out in front of me. So here’s the tip: Shift gears between projects and do something completely unrelated and easy for about 10 minutes. This will let your mind sort through what needs to be done next in your projects, and give you a change of scenery. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
August 14th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I’ve been sucked in. You’ve been added to my RSS reader. It’s posts like this, which I agree with whole-heartedly, that make me think that you’re the voice in my brain.
Thanks for posting.
August 15th, 2006 at 10:27 am
Hi guys:
Jen: thanks for the kind words. Darren is the man!
Nate: Hopefully the voices in your brain aren’t like the voices in mine… ;) Just kidding there. Glad to hear we’re on the same page.
Rian: It’s funny you mention the best ideas in the shower bit. I just had a great one today.
August 21st, 2006 at 5:42 am
[...] Zwei tolle Artikel auf LifeDev darüber, warum man tolle Ideen immer dann bekommt, wenn man gerade etwas anderes macht, und wie man diese tollen Ideen behält, obwohl man gerade etwas anderes macht. Get Productive (And Let Your Mind Wander) und 7 Idea Dumping Tips (How To Manage Diarrhea of the Brain). [...]
August 22nd, 2006 at 5:58 pm
[...] Every day I’ll pull up my list of post ideas that I haven’t written about. I’ll glance through the titles and bullet points, and see if anything triggers a thought. If it does, I’ll write down another bullet point or idea. If not, I let it be. Usually more ideas for the posts come up when I’m doing something else. [...]
September 7th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
[...] I can be driving in the car with Duke in the background and it’s like my brain is kicking-back in a hot tub. We’re talking reeee-laxed. And oddly enough, I often get some of my best ideas this way. [...]
October 5th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
[...] Many times ideas come to us when we least expect them. Most of the time I’m pretty good about adding ideas and tasks to proper detailed lists. I can usually remember what I was talking about when I wrote it down. However, there are times I’ll look at a thought I scribbled down hastily a month later and wonder if I actually wrote it. It means nothing to me. Why? Because it has no context. Context is everything when it comes to collecting and remembering ideas and thoughts. When we look at our ideas, we want them to be just as vivid in our minds as the day we jotted it down. [...]
November 1st, 2006 at 2:55 pm
[...] I know, I know. This concept is nothing new. I’ve even mentioned it a couple of times before at LifeDev. But it’s always nice to see real-life examples, isn’t it? [...]
November 6th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
[...] By switching contexts we can maximize our time and foster more creativity and productivity. Sometimes we only focus on productivity in our professional lives, but productivity is most effective if used in every aspect of our lives. Great post Doug! [...]
November 21st, 2006 at 1:47 pm
[...] I guess the argument could be made that instead of trying to actively avoid work, maybe we should focus our efforts on something else worthwhile to help invigorate us. Sound familiar? Filed under: GTD on Nov 21,06 | Tags: lifehack, slacking off, work. [...]
May 21st, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I am 11 years old and i mind wander as you call it and I do it so much I cold have filled up a cople note books with questions that i have thought of, but I mind wander alot when i am spossed to be sleeping. my bed time is at 8:00 and i ussaly got to sleep some time around 10:00 - 12:00. I will defanatly start having a note book on my nite stand.
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June 27th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
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August 14th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
hi guys, this happens to me all the time, I need to read a good article or blog or sth calls my atention and that is the trigger to new ideas… but these ideas come when I do household chores. So I try to have near me sth to write the ideas. I just need a trigger to start writing.
thanks for this great blog! you’re an inspiration.
September 19th, 2007 at 5:33 am
[...] of my favorite quotes from an article I read on LifeDev [...]
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:03 pm
[...] such thing as forced creativity. I’ve found that the best way to allow your mind to form ideas is when I’m doing something else. You have to be ready at anytime to jot something down. I know this point is a lot like #1, but I [...]
December 10th, 2007 at 7:11 am
[...] Life Dev: Get Productive (And Let Your Mind Wander) [...]