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Boost Your Creativity in Our Overloaded Information Environment

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Einstein used to say that when he’d hit an impasse on a problem, he’d go sailing – and the answer would often come to him on the water.

  • Is it harder to be creative when information is constantly coming at you from all directions?
  • Is our digital environment interfering with our employees’ ability to see the big picture?
  • Are we so overloaded with information that we don’t even have time to think?

[wcm_restrict]According to recent brain research, the answer to all these questions may be ‘yes.’ Being creative means making new connections between ideas. When we try to focus on too many things at once, our ability to make these connections is restricted. Taking the right kind of breaks can really be helpful. Neuroscientists have observed that just before that ‘aha!’ moment, the brain relaxes its focus and allows distant connections to be made.

How can we capitalize on this knowledge and harness our brain’s inventive powers? We need to take breaks when we’ve focused so long on a problem that we can no longer be creative. Take breaks when you’re stuck – not when someone else wants your attention. The good news is that when we take the right kind of breaks, our brains are still unconsciously working on the problem at hand.

  • Brain-enhancing breaks are of the low-information variety. They don’t add to the overload you’re already experiencing.
  • Get physical exercise. It brings oxygen to your brain and promotes the formation of connections between neurons. So get up and walk around during a break rather than staying put.
  • Expose yourself to nature. Looking at water, trees, or flowers works better than machines, mortar and bricks. Nature attracts your attention modestly. It’s enough to relieve your information overload while your brain still works unconsciously on your problem. Stop and smell the roses—literally.
  • Learn to sleep strategically. While you’re sleeping, your brain is trying to make sense of what you were thinking about during the day. Sleeping on a problem really works. Schedule projects so you can sleep between the beginning and your deadline, and be prepared to take advantage of the great ideas that come to you as you’re waking up. Keep a pad and pencil by your bed.
  • Don’t be a workaholic. The most creative workers alternate between intense focus and relaxation. Good ideas come to you when you least expect them. An unstressed mind can work for you 24/7 even when you don’t know you’re working. If you keep your nose to the grindstone, you’ll never see the big picture.

Business policies should promote both focus and brain-enhancing breaks. To get the most out of their creative employees, businesses should not encourage their employees to multitask or to be constantly interruptible; nor should they promote workaholism. In addition to encouraging higher-quality work, there will be less employee burnout.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

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About the Author

Joanne Cantor, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert on the psychology of media and communications. She is Outreach Director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was an award-winning professor for 26 years. Through her consulting firm, Your Mind on Media, she speaks before business, professional, and educational organizations on productivity, creativity, and stress reduction. In recognition of her expertise, Dr. Cantor has testified on numerous occasions before U.S. Congressional committees as well as the Federal Communications Commission. To read Joanne’s complete biography, click here.

How to Discourage Digital Distractions: Conquer CyberOverload

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It’s been estimated that unnecessary interruptions caused by digital distractions cost U.S. Businesses $650 billion per year in lost productivity.

Ask yourself and your employees the following questions:

  • Do you find yourself getting LESS done now that you have constant access to limitless information and anyone can interrupt you at any time?
  • Are you so attached to your digital devices that you don’t even have time to THINK?

[wcm_restrict]If so, you are suffering from CyberOverload, an affliction that occurs when our gadgets control us rather than the other way around. The latest brain research shows why our gadgets often have negative effects on employee outcomes. For example:

  • Your brain can’t multitask – it can only switch back and forth between two tasks, and both tasks suffer.

Many people think they’re immune to these effects. But to get a sense of how hard it is for your brain to switch tasks, try to quickly name the color of the letters in each word in the following image:

When the attendees at my workshops try a few brain exercises like this one, they become convinced to modify their habits. Here are some simple tips to enhance your productivity in the age of the Internet:

  • Limit your multitasking. Before choosing to multitask, ask yourself these four questions: Do I want to dumb down my brain for this? Do I want to spend more time than necessary on this? Do I want to have very little memory for what I’ve just done? Do I want to do a poorer job? If you can answer yes to all four questions, go ahead and multitask!
  • Be the master of your interruptions. Our gadgets give everyone access to our attention 24/7. Be the one to decide when it’s time to take a break from what you’re doing and respond. When you’re trying to get something done, turn off your email, cell phone and other devices so you can focus. Let people know when you’ll be available next and they’ll be less likely to bug you.
  • Make a list of drop-everything contacts. These are the few people who need to reach you instantly. Arrange a way for them to get through to you without leaving yourself on-call for everyone who wants your attention.
  • Know when to take a break. With unending access to limitless information on the web, it’s easy to get stuck. If you find yourself up to your eyeballs in data and can’t see the forest for the trees, take a break and come back later. If you take “brain-enhancing” breaks, your brain will still be working on your problem while you’re not.

In the next article, I’ll talk about some simple ways to promote creative thinking through brain-enhancing breaks.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 
[/wcm_nonmember]

About the Author

Joanne Cantor, PhD, is an internationally recognized expert on the psychology of media and communications. She is Outreach Director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she was an award-winning professor for 26 years. Through her consulting firm, Your Mind on Media, she speaks before business, professional, and educational organizations on productivity, creativity, and stress reduction. In recognition of her expertise, Dr. Cantor has testified on numerous occasions before U.S. Congressional committees as well as the Federal Communications Commission. To read Joanne’s complete biography, click here.