How to get into the right frame of mind for creative work?This question excites the minds of representatives of various professions, because the element of creativity is present in almost all of them. A graduating student must first come up with an idea for his diploma, an advertiser - a concept for a PR company, and we are not even talking about artists, musicians and writers! In any case, the techniques that help to tune in to creative work will be interesting and useful to everyone.
A little bit about creative work
As we have already written above, creative workcan be anything. A person can use creativity in various spheres of life: in technical production, scientific inventions, event organization, creation of works of art and even in everyday life. The essence of creativity is in the creation of something qualitatively new, its result can be material or spiritual products. They are always unique, and, most importantly, no one can repeat them except the author (although, perhaps, even he will not be able to!). This is explained by the fact that in the process of creativity the author puts a part of himself, his capabilities and resources into the work, and this is what gives additional value to the results of his work. The tuning to creative work goes through a number of stages in its development:
To carry out creative work a personspecial abilities are needed, which in the modern world are called creativity. The concept of creativity includes well-developed verbal and figurative abilities, fluency, flexibility, speed of switching from one thing to another, originality, diversity of ideas and strategies, the ability to see the root of the problem and resist the influence of stereotypes. All these features directly affect the speed and quality of creative work.
How to tune into creativity
This is often much more difficult thantune in to everyday activities. How, for example, do you tune in to preparing for an exam? It is certainly unpleasant, but quite simple: you eliminate the distractions and just sit down to study. However, with creativity, everything is much more complicated, because the muse that brings inspiration is capricious, and the phenomenon of creativity has not yet been fully unraveled. The options for tuning in to it depend on what happens in our heads during creative work. There are qualities that interfere with creativity - these are conformism, internal and external limitations, stereotypes, rigidity, as well as the desire to immediately find an answer. Conformism or uncritical acceptance of the attitudes and opinions of other people prevents you from having your own ideas and confidence in their quality. The same thing happens with censorship - it is like a filter in the human psyche, not letting the necessary information into the consciousness. Rigidity is the inability to change your actions or train of thought in accordance with the new requirements of the situation. It prevents a person from switching over and makes him unprepared to create new products or ideas. Well, the desire to find an answer simply confuses the thinker, forcing him to think exclusively about it, and not about the essence of the problem being solved. These are the obstacles. What to do with them, we hope, is clear - overcome them in every possible way (if, of course, you want to do creative work). First, relax and free yourself from haste. If you cannot abstract yourself from the urgency of the task, try to simply meditate - it greatly clears the mind (and this is exactly what is needed for insight to occur). Secondly, cultivate in yourself a craving and resistance to everything new as opposed to rigidity. This is quite easy to do - regularly do simple exercises such as coming up with five synonyms for the word "beauty" or, returning from work, changing the route every evening. Once a week, do a small rearrangement in one room. Every day, change the order of things on your desktop. In general, there are plenty of options for how to get used to constant novelty, and, in addition, it will fill you with new impressions and set you in a creative mood. Thirdly, increase your self-esteem and get rid of conformism. The desire to agree with someone else's opinion is an echo of self-doubt, because when you know that your idea or opinion is the best, you do not need anyone else's. Censorship, both external and internal, also applies here. The latter, by the way, often stems from all sorts of irrational attitudes instilled in us from the outside: “this is vulgar”, “this is stupid”, “nobody needs this”, etc. ... They must be found and challenged - if this is difficult to do on your own, then enlist the support of an important and influential person. However, all these things are good in the long term. But what should be done in order to tune in to creative work right here and now? Psychologists describe a number of techniques and methods that can help you in this difficult task. They are consistent with the general principles of creative work:
- Act in accordance with the stages of becoming. First, a little work on the task before you, and then put it away and do something else, for example, sports (blood flow is activated, hormones are injected into it, speeding up the work of all body systems).
- Look at as many related materials as possiblewith the solution of your creative task - no one knows where you will get the inspiration you need so much. It is better if these are bright and visual things, and also selected according to different modalities (sight, hearing, touch, taste): photographs, clippings from glossy magazines, rhythmic songs, spices or something else.
- Think about a resourceful situation for you.This memory will excite positive emotions in you: joy, confidence, calm, harmony, happiness - choose the situation depending on what state you need right now. For example, the view of Niagara Falls is suitable for immersion in calm, and the memory of a wild graduation - for joyful experiences.
- If it's hard for you to abstract yourself from unpleasant onesfeelings that are gnawing at you right now, try to find yourself a pleasant but monotonous occupation. For example, write on the sheet of paper a beautiful calligraphic handwriting all thoughts, ideas and words that can relate to the problem you are solving. You will focus on the process of writing, digress from the unpleasant state, and, perhaps, even sketch a couple of interesting ideas.
- Try to look at the problem from different anglesof view. This can be very funny and even fun! First, look at the project being developed through the eyes of a child - what should it be like to attract his attention? Then through the eyes of an old woman - what will she be interested in? Then through the eyes of a businesswoman, a homosexual, a factory worker, a graduate of the philological faculty - the more different roles you try on, the more energy and positive ideas you will absorb.
- Choose the right time and place.Surely you have a place that inspires you to creative feats, as well as a time of day when you work most productively? Well, there is no need to break yourself - it is better to use the available resources and place yourself in the environment in which the arrival of the muse is most likely.
We have covered a wide range of aspectscreative work. Yes, it is hard to be constantly “creative”, but nothing compares to the satisfaction of a masterpiece you have created, be it the text of a new article, an idea for an advertising strategy or a ready-made business plan. Few people know that creative work is not just a daydream, but painstaking work, which our recommendations will help you successfully complete. Creative success to you! We recommend reading:
