Let’s run a small experiment to see if we can increase your capacity for creative thinking. It just takes half an hour of your time and an umbrella (if you live in my homeland of Scotland). Because you’ll be going out for a walk to pick up some inspiration.
Here’s how it works:
- Get my InspoWalk tool at https://davebirss.com/inspowalk
- Use it to lead you away from your typical route
- When it tells you to stop, spot something interesting and write 3 things you can learn from it
- Keep going until your time is up
- Use the inspiration you’ve gathered to nudge your thinking in new directions
So What Kind Of Learnings Do You Note Down?
You should write your learnings as pieces of advice for your future thinking self. If, for example, you see some chewing gum on the pavement, it might inspire you to write:
- Give people a canvas to decorate a public space
- Give people an activity to do when they’re idle
- Help people interact with their environment
If you see a dog tied to some railings, it might inspire you to write:
- Encourage people to stay in one place
- Help people keep their valuables safe
- Make people pause (from the fact that dogs have ‘paws’)
This exercise gives you a number of benefits:
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Fresh Inspiration
In the space of half an hour, you should come back with at least a dozen learnings. These are designed to nudge your thinking in different directions. Take them and apply them to whatever you’re working on. Or write them down in your notebook to use at a later date.
Fresh Environment
Offices – and even home offices – can limit our thinking. They come with assumptions of how we operate and the kinds of ideas that are acceptable. Simply getting out and about and going places you wouldn’t normally go can get you thinking in new ways.
Fresh Air
A bit of exercise gets the blood pumping, sending oxygen to your brain. It removes impurities and even releases a neurochemical called BDNF which helps strengthen neural connections.
I’ve done this exercise a number of times myself. And I’ve used it in some of my training sessions. It seems to work. So try it out and let me know how you get on.
If you want bonus points, send me the prompts you write. I’d love to see them.
