The document provides 5 unconventional ways to boost creativity: 1) Cut yourself off from sensory input by reducing visual input, noise, and isolating yourself. 2) Engage in daydreaming to allow problems to be solved creatively. 3) Take improv comedy lessons to improve mental flexibility. 4) Eat something new for breakfast to disrupt normal thought patterns. 5) Switch up your work schedule by staying up late or waking early when your mind is less awake to make unusual connections. The goal is to get the brain working less efficiently to spark creativity.

1. WAYS TO BE CREATIVE
UNCONVENTIONAL5

2. Our brains are lazy.
It has been scientifically proven.

3. Our brains frequently use connections –
or neural pathways – created by past experience to
decipher the world around us.

4. If we just let them be, our brains would always
choose the most energy
efficient path. ”
MIT senior lecturer
Tara Swart
http://www.fastcompany.com/3045424/work-smart/what-it-takes-to-change-your-brains-patterns-after-age–25
“

5. This means that our brains aren’t
great at being creative.

6. Creativity is all
about making
new connections.

7. We have to do things that are
counter-intuitive in order to spark
our creative side...

8. Even if they might feel unnatural at first.
?

9. Here are five unconventional ways to get
your creative juices flowing.

10. CUT YOURSELF OFF
FROM THE WORLD#1

11. If you want to get creative, reduce your
sensory input as much as possible.

12. Why?

13. Cutting off sensory input allows the
‘constantly-make-sure-you’re-not-dying’
part of your brain to chill out for a second,
allowing the creative, relaxed part of your
brain to come out and play.
- Graham Talley
https://blog.bufferapp.com/the-power-of-shutting-down-your-senses-how-to-boost-your-creativity-and-have-a-clear-mind

14. If you work from home or have control
over your working environment, try
doing these three things:
Work-from-home expert,
Belle Beth Cooper
https://blog.bufferapp.com/the-power-of-shutting-down-your-senses-how-to-boost-your-creativity-and-have-a-clear-mind

15. REDUCE VISUAL INPUT
Lay down in a dark room and
just let your mind wander.
Blackout curtains would be perfect for this, but a blindfold
or eye mask would do great as well.

16. Get a set of padded or in-ear headphones and block
out the myriad of distractions and noises around you.
SHUT OUT
THE NOISE

17. Literally get away from the rest of the world. Try a regular bath
time ritual with earplugs and an eye mask.
ISOLATE
YOURSELF

18. DAYDREAM#2

19. Recent research has shown that
daydreaming might just be the key to unlocking
your creative problem solving potential.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/daydreaming-creativity-mind-wandering_n_1981546.html

20. A study conducted by researchers
from the University of California found that
“ engaging in simple external tasks that allow
the mind to wander may facilitate creative
problem solving. ”

21. In the experiment, participants were asked to
come up with as many “unusual uses” for an
object as they could.

22. Participants then did one of four things before
performing the same “unusual use” task again:
Do a demanding task
Do an undemanding task
Take a 12 minute break
Skip the 12 minute break and
do the task right away

23. The group who performed the undemanding
task was the only group who did better the
second time around.

24. This group of people also reported high levels of
daydreaming while completing the task.

25. Make sure to start your project before
drifting off.
http://99u.com/articles/16136/7-ways-to-boost-your-creativity

26. Take improv
comedy lessons#3

27. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304256404579449180386537694)
Watching comedy can more than
double our ability to solve brain teasers,
according to researchers from the University of Maryland.

28. Comedy improves our mental flexibility,
engaging our brains in ways
that it does not expect.

29. Taking classes in
this area helps to
stretch your imagination.

30. “ Improv requires players to accept what
they are given, build on the ideas of
others, and encourage wild ideas. ”

31. “ Everyone thinks that they know how to
brainstorm, but in fact, brainstorming is usually
plagued by problems like self-censoring,
competitiveness, and ridicule. ”

32. “ Improv is a great way for [people] to
learn to defer judgment. ”
Engineering professor at Dartmouth
Peter Robie
http://www.fastcompany.com/1576793/do-improv-comedians-make-best-design-thinkers

33. Eat something new
for breakfast#4

34. “ If you’re looking to increase your
creativity, it’s better to switch up
your morning routine a bit. ”
Social psychologist
Simone Ritter and her colleagues:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201206/why-weird-experiences-boost-creativity

35. Any kind of new experience that pushes
you out of your “ normal thought patterns ”
can help with boosting your creativity.

36. Participants of an experiment were asked to prepare a
sandwich with butter and chocolate chips…
Some people were told to prepare the sandwich in an unusual order:
Putting chocolate chips on a dish, then…
Buttering the bread, and then…
Placing the bread buttered-side-down on
the dish with the chocolate chips.

37. Another group had to
make the sandwich in
the usual order…

38. Meanwhile, other
groups watched a
video of a person
making the sandwich
in either the unusual
way or the usual way.

39. The result?

40. Those who made the sandwich in an unusual
order “ scored highest in cognitive flexibility
compared with the other groups. ”

41. If such a simple exercise could make such a big difference, the
possibilities are endless. Make a cup of tea instead of coffee one
morning. Find a hip new joint for lunch or try adding a new app
to your workflow. Just try to engage your brain differently, and
you might just discover something new that day.

42. Switch up your
work schedule#5

43. Remember: the key to creativity is to get our
brains to work less efficiently than normal
(surprisingly!)

44. “ For instance, when we’re tired,
our brain’s filter tends to take a break. ”
Science Writer
Marissa Fessenden
http://elitedaily.com/life/people-are-creative-when-tired/1145773/

45. And starts making non-standard connections.

46. A fuzzy brain is more open to fresh
ideas and perspectives.

47. 400 students – “morning larks” and “night owls”
– were asked to solve insight-based and
analytical problems at different times.
Mareike B. Wieth Rose T. Zacks
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546783.2011.625663

48. For the the insight-based creativity problems,
participants ended up performing better
when they were less awake.

49. For night owls, the optimal time ended up
being in the wee hours of the morning.
4:00 AM

50. For early risers, the optimal time
was late at night.
23:30 AM

51. So start thinking about staying up
past your bedtime or waking before
your alarm clock to do some
unstructured thinking!

52. So there you have it! Time to ditch
your conventional ways and get your
creative juices flowing!
Creative Juice

53. Do you have any
other unconventional
tips for getting your
creative on?
Give us a shoutout in the comments
below, or find us on Twitter.
@piktochart
Check out the full article on our blog:
https://piktochart.com/blog/5-unconventional-ways-to-be-creative/