Hacking the Creative Brain

>> Work Better Create More
,

/*
Denise Jacobs
<AngleBrackets /> Conference | Las Vegas, NV
29 October 2013
*/

Twitter Hacks
I am:
.@denisejacobs
We’re at:
#AngleBrackets
And we’re going to
#hackcreativity

I’ve always loved to create, but…

But I was still afraid: am I truly creative?

Photo: Denise Jacobs

I had an epiphany

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44085287@N05/4055814772/

I realized that

http://www.flickr.com/photos/designandtechnologydepartment/4771136128/

Powerful and empowering

http://www.flickr.com/photos/assbach/267598910/

Thus, I speak, write, and evangelize creativity

Photo: Derek Kearney

What’s our most important tool for creating?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drachmann/327122302/

Not these…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/plindberg/33867829/

This one!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APSM_V14_D495_Side_view_of_the_brain_and_spinal_cord.jpg

Office-bound

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stewf/393637161/

Time pressures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indraw/4857101224/

Clients

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clairity/154640125/

Bureaucracy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/opensourceway/4749431435/

Oppressed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johannahobbs/2412291551/

“Houston, we have a problem…”

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S70-34902.jpg

Instead of feeling like this


When we are in the creative flow

http://www.flickr.com/photos/myfear/289257055/

We are alchemists

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faust_image_19thcentury.jpg

“Creativity is newness produced.”
- Sir Ken Robinson, Out of Our Minds

It feels like

http://www.flickr.com/photos/torley/2761300969/

“Creativity is magical, but it is not
magic.”
- Dr. Charles Limb,
Your Brain on Improvisation
TED talk

Who here feels like they are creative?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/3135103537/

“Creativity is all about making
connections and seeing
patterns.”
- Bruce Nussbaum,
Creativity Intelligence

Creativity is critical

http://business.time.com/2013/04/26/the-time-creativity-poll/

Understand the mechanisms of creativity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mag3737/304687602/

Let out all of your great ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anieto2k/8156999698/

“Creativity makes day to day
experiences more vivid, more
enjoyable, more rewarding. When
we live creatively, boredom is
banished and every moment holds
the promise of a fresh discovery.”
- Mihali Csikszentmihalyi,
Creativity

1

Emancipate & Adjust

Our Goals

2

Practice & Generate
3

Innovate & Produce

Current work culture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emayoh/4589881812/

Bad game of telephone

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theory/3193684688/

Habits and thinking to quit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/meddygarnet/4170136164/sizes/l/

Distractions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicksherman/529178002/

Multitasking

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daquellamanera/3041235238/

Zeigarnik Effect

http://www.psychwiki.com/wiki/Zeigarnik_Effect

Communication addiction

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andersdenken/2082816707/

Intermittent reinforcement

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jepoirrier/422469526/ | http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristoferbjorkman/6910216819/ | http://www.flickr.com/photos/foreignoffice/2671039488/

Busyness

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wester/504925076/

Internalized the critical voices

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeapalooza/553545517/

Become monsters in your head

http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/4887528060/

Instead of Creativity

Source: Flickr

Destructivity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevygee/3265941065/

“If your demons are such that they
fill the room the instant you
contemplate creating, your
studio will be too dangerous a
place to enter.”
- Eric Maisel, author of Fearless
Creating

Recognize the many forms of your Inner Critic

Hack >> Know the Impostor Syndrome Paradox

http://www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/2279939232/

Comparisons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/automania/126698126/

Procrastination

http://www.flickr.com/photos/irrezolut/2311904560/

Perfectionism

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diepuppenstubensammlerin/7648792510/

Fear of failure

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/2717325940/

F.E.A.R. =
“False Evidence Appearing Real”
or, alternatively,
“F*ck Everything And Run!”

Thoughts on fear

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZIt20emgLY

“Fear is not real. It is a product of
the thoughts you create. Do not
misunderstand me. Danger is
very real. But fear is a choice.”
- character of Cypher Raige
(played by Will Smith), After
Earth

We become terrorists to ourselves

http://www.flickr.com/photos/koomatuomio/4182554398/

“Obsessing about preventing bad
things from happening also
prevents good things from
happening, or sometimes
prevents anything from
happening at all.”
- Scott Berkun, The Year Without
Pants

Hack >> Become a Fear Alchemist

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Wright_of_Derby_The_Alchemist.jpg

“The goal is to manage anxiety so
that our energies are used for
the productive and satisfying
(act) of creating, rather than the
destructive and debilitating art
of self-torture.”
- Clare Warmke, Idea Revolution

Banish the Inner Critic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mythoto/3822942678/

Maintain perspective

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daikrieg/1294053038/

Empathize

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wrote/2646295354/

Reframe #fail

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingsquid/2717326642/

“An essential aspect of creativity is
not being afraid to fail.”
- Dr. Edwin Land,
The Instant Image: Edwin Land
and the Polaroid Experience

Change your body language, change your mind

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirteenthnile/4546397775/

“Our bodies change our minds,
our minds change our behavior,
and our behavior changes our
outcomes.”
- Amy Cuddy,
Your Body Language Shapes
Who You Are
TED talk

Fake it until you become it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mangee/195050727/

#Exercise: Power Pose
Stand up. Assume a pose that embodies a sense of
defeat, can’t do it, it will never work, “I suck/I’m no
good/an impostor”, etc. Make yourself as small
and powerless feeling as possible.
Then, strike a power pose. Imagine yourself as a
superhero looking off into the distance seeing your
destiny of major creative butt-kicking.
Alternate several times. Hold the power pose for as
long as you can so that you can feel the change.

Adjust: Train Your Brain

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/3211540197/

Let’s take a closer look


Left v. Right brain?

http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=left%20brain%20right%20brain&order=9&offset=48#/d10qlpq

Left hemisphere

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smittenkittenoriginals/4451172538/

Right hemisphere

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorelei-ranveig/2294885580/

Instead: Left + Right brain = Creativity


“The parts of your brain that are
responsible for self-monitoring are
literally turned off during creative
endeavors….Creative people have
mastered the art of turning off [the
inhibitive] part of their brains to let their
ideas flow more smoothly, unleashing
their imagination.”
- Tina Seelig, InGenius

What are our brains constantly producing?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cblue98/7254347346/

Alpha: the gateway to creativity

#Exercise: Enter Alpha
Close your eyes and relax. Breathe through your
nose.
Now place your tongue at the roof of your mouth,
turn your eyes towards the ceiling underneath your
eyelids.
Take several deep, long breaths.
As you relax, you are changing your brainwaves from
Beta to Alpha.

Hack >> Breathe to refocus

http://www.flickr.com/photos/guiniveretoo/1573049301/

Hack >> Being prone

http://www.flickr.com/photos/snazzy54/4581347651/

Hack >> Showers

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevendepolo/3761878381/

“When your brain is supposedly
doing nothing, it’s really doing a
tremendous amount.”
– Marcus Raichle, Neurologist

Hack >> Daydream/Space out

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzylittlemanpeach/4633972431/

Hack >> Engage in mindless activity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rabi/2499381396/

Hack >> Get physical

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miguel77/2728104156/

Hack >> Leverage Biophilia

http://www.flickr.com/photos/verifex/3782787057/

Hack >> Laugh

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gagillphoto/3336353424/

“When you are playful, you are
activating the right side of your
brain. The logical brain is a
limited brain. The right side is
unlimited. You can (do and ) be
anything you want.”
- Madan Kataria, The Laughter
Guru

Intend Alpha

http://uniteunderfreedom.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Brain-waves.jpg

Exercise Discipline

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bizz0k0/3432638748/

Show up everyday


And really commit to it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deathtogutenberg/2976274920/

Focus on meaningful tasks

http://www.43folders.com/2008/09/01/what-are-you-doing

Hack >> Delegate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/3645313261/

#Exercise: To Don’t List
To do more of what you love and less of what you dislike,
start writing To Don’t Lists (aka “Stop Doing” Lists).

Pick a partner, and write a list of 3-5 items that you commit to
stop doing within the next 30 days. Date the list. Share the
list with your partner and get ideas on how to eliminate
these items from your life either by stopping them or
delegating/outsourcing the tasks.

Review your list in 30 days to see what you need to continue
to stop doing so that your time is spent on what you value
and want to cultivate. Create another list for the upcoming
30 days.

Clean-up habit fields

http://www.flickr.com/photos/risager/3452272176/

Habit what?

http://alistapart.com/article/habit-fields

Hack >> Habit field reboot
Clean up your work habit field by following the
suggestions in the article “Habit Fields” by Jack
Cheng. Create your equivalent of a “distraction
chair” and move to it when you feel like you are
inclined to surf the web, email, Tweet, Facebook,
or engage in any other computer-related
distraction. When you are ready to work again,
come back to your desk.
Rinse and repeat until your work habit field is clear
again and no longer fuzzy.

Manage time

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paolocampioni/2168286027/

Single-task


“Single-tasking is the new multitasking.”
- A Your Brain on Creativity
participant

Say NO to Distractions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gideon/6582069/

{ Further Resources }
Firefox extension: LeechBlock:
http://www.proginosko.com/leechblock.html
Firefox extension: Idderall:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/
idderall/
Google Chrome extension: Strict Workflow:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/strictworkflow/
Google Chrome extension: StayFocusd:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/
stayfocusd/

Hack >> Pomodoro Technique

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucamascaro/4975166968/

Hack >> Airplane mode

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pieterouwerkerk/699475144/

Hack >> Pomodoro 2.0
Practice the Pomodoro technique. Do a 30 minute sprint
where you turn off all distractions and work for 25 minutes.
Before you start your sprint, write down the objective of the
sprint. Do the sprint, and at the end of it, take a moment to
jot down any challenges encountered, and your end results
from the sprint.
For your 5 minute break, activate your Alpha brainwaves by
either laying down on the floor with your eyes closed, or
look at clouds shifting in the sky.

Hack >> Work standing up

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rknight/2645099486/

Why? Because

http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org/sitting-kills/

Hack >> Change environments

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3475417696/

Generate: Start the flow of ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/international-festival/3018718331/

Hack >> Shape your micro-environment

http://www.flickr.com/photos/info_grrl/6162309101/

Everything is a remix


Remix inspiration

“Mona Lisa” by Paul Giovanopoulos, http://www.giovanopoulos.com/

Hack >> Create constaints

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielsilliman/4489863368/

Get inspired by children

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barretthall/3036598475/

From the mind of a 4yo

Photo courtesy of Laura Bohill (@LauRARbee)

Generate ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathb/3933087930/

Capture ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosengrant/3637839874/

Embrace disruption

Photo: Denise Jacobs

Write them down

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caitlinator/2826079915/

Sketch them out

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eoze04/4890376021/

Talk them out (& record it)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamescridland/3641402489/

Gather and curate your ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmanviz/3181410714/

Tools to do so
Evernote
Pinterest.com
Delicious.com
Flickr.com
Trello.com
Zootool.com
Gimmebar.com

Dropr.com
Diigo
Tumblr
Imgspark.com
Scrnshots.com
Vi.sualize.us
Emberapp.com

Do it with others

http://www.flickr.com/photos/u-suke/5668302030/

Mo’ people, mo’ ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seretuaccidente/147686396/

Immerse yourself in diverse environments

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shirinwiniger/3680885289/

Avoid sameness

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dahlstroms/3774973833/

The source of great ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/librarianavengers/2495352933/

Bring brilliance together

http://www.flickr.com/photos/argonne/4436484250/

Create a locus where ideas can mix & mingle


Don’t keep them to yourself


Invite others to wonder with you

http://www.flickr.com/photos/silicongulf/2114492904/

Share ideas

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanpalmero/4278466639/

Share mistakes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilt/26322670/

Hack >> Co-work to collaborate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coffeemick/5106610355/

Hack >> Engage in Parallel Play

http://handsfullofgrass.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/img_2123.jpg

Amplify the ideas of others

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roland/54381130/

Improv

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roel1943/5740295789/

Hack >> Plus it


Make your partner look good


Will connect people beyond the cubicle


And encourage better teamwork


“Creativity is more than a great
idea, it’s the determination to
see the idea through to fruition.”
- Clare Warmke, Idea Revolution

Prototype

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindmob/292609444/

Iterate

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deliciousblur/4165405018/

The d.school production-iteration process
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

observe
suggest
tinker
review
apply feedback
reiterate

The stage is set for Flow

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgeithner/5290115839/

All of the previous steps lead you here:
•  Concept in mind: know what you want
to achieve and what it looks like
•  Practice in place
•  Cleared space
•  Time carved out and distractions
eliminated
•  Necessary materials on hand

Previously

http://www.flickr.com/photos/generated/2084287794/

Moving forward

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulpolux/3317141795/

Before

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_g_travels/860951845/

After

http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualdoubts/4087935894/

Stepping through them more easily

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/4269399012/

(Re)Gain Creative Confidence


…which is
“…the confidence that, when given a
difficult problem, we have a
methodology that enables us to
come up with a solution that
nobody has before.”
- David Kelley of Ideo

Ideas are on and poppin’!


Joyfulness in Work

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rvm_71/5011353192/

Turn work into play


Hack your habits >> Different Results

http://starchild07.deviantart.com/art/Brainwaves-44238823

Practicing different habits >> Transform your life

The goal


You have the power


…And make better things


Get your creativity hack on!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bibi/5448158773/

The End…?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/imuttoo/232100469/

Resources!
delicious.com/denisejacobs/getunblocked
delicious.com/denisejacobs/unfoldyourbrain
delicious.com/denisejacobs/creativityhabit
delicious.com/denisejacobs/brainoncreativity
Always being updated as I find new relevant articles!
“Great Resources” almost daily: @denisejacobs on
Twitter

Cover art thanks to Americo Morales

AmericoMorales.com

My articles for further reading!
netmagazine.com/features/
four-secrets-enhancingcreative-productivity
alistapart.com/articles/
reigniting-your-creative-spark/
alistapart.com/articles/
banishing-your-inner-critic/

Want More?

Sign up for news on my
upcoming book,
projects, other
announcements and
whatnot at

DeniseJacobs.com

How to find me on teh Interwebz
DeniseJacobs.com
 Sign up on my mailing list here!

denise@denisejacobs.com
twitter.com/denisejacobs
facebook.com/denisejacobsdotcom
slideshare.net/denisejacobs
Photo used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarronwalter/4629078087/

Thank you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4759535970/

Hacking the Creative Brain

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Hacking the Creative Brain

More from Denise Jacobs

Recently uploaded

Hacking the Creative Brain