I use Evernote for managing my favourite quotes, to write down ideas, save interesting links and articles. It is a great app to manage knowledge across many mobile devices. I had been looking for something like that for a long time. Highly recommened, especially for people dealing with creativity and innovation on a daily basis.
Today I got a newsletter from them about their latest product – Evernote Peek. I was trully stunned what a clever product that is. They use an iPad 2 Smart Cover in such an innovative way! This kind of cover seems to be a simple thing – you lift it and it wakes your tablet up. But it folds in way that make an Evernote Peek a practical solution for tests and quizes. And it is so usable and natural like lifting a notepad cover. Don’t take it for granted and watch the video below.
What I love about creative ideas is that they really bring a WOW effect and a smile on your face.
There is a great list of tips how to stay creative on Live On Michigan Ave blog.
My favourite ones are:
1. Make lists
It is great to write down your ideas – lists are just made for it (and mindmaps!).
2. Carry a notebook everywhere
I am a stationary freak and a big fan of Moleskine notepads which are great tools to jot down ideas, sketches etc. Highly recommended.
16. Allow yourself to make mistakes
It is always a part of a creative process – allow yourself to fall because only great things may be invented this way.
19. Get lots of rest
Enough sleep and rest is a must for a mind to come up with creative solutions to problems. Many researches prove that in the very morning after a long healthy sleep we solve difficult situations more easily than in the evening.
20 Take risks
Great inventors are usually perceived as fools in the very beginning. They take risks and go beyond common sense with their actions just to discover new lands.
21. Break the rules
Convention is something that very often guarantees mediocrity – thinking outside the box is about breaking the current rules of thinking.
25. Stop trying to be someone else’s perfect
Focus on who you really are and get the best out of yourself.
26. Got an idea – write it down
It’s easy to forget…
27. Clean your workspace
Minimalizm in your workspace kills the clutter and helps to clean your mind too.
29. Finish something
A lot of stress comes not from being overloaded with tasks but from failing to complete them.
What’s more interesting is that TOFU prepared Motion Graphic to visualize these 29 things.
This is a kind of video that makes you smile. It also makes you think that if you want other people to take action you need to prepare a clever message. It needs to be good enough to trigger something in their heads. A few words put in a great way can cause a “WoW effect”. Even somebody begging on a street can stand out and get out of the box.
Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of bestselling “Eat, Pray, Love” gave a revealing speech about nurturing creativity. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome people believed that creativity comes from some distant and unknowable source called either a “deamon” or a “genius”. So if somebody didn’t have enough of creativity at the particular moment it wasn’t their fault. It was some external source that decided if the craft was meant to be close to perfection. So it wasn’t a matter of being a genius but having a genius.
In the Renaissance where a human being became a central part of the universe the perception of creativity change dramatically. We started to call people geniuses because of their talents, innovative thinking and visions. So if they failed to deliver great results it was their fault. Divine spirits were no longer to be blamed. It became very difficult for a single person to carry such burden on their shoulders. Probably it was the moment when the fear of failure become a serious issue. People started to have anxieties and commit suicides as they couldn’t get great ideas out of their heads
And now we are back in XXI centuries working on a book, article or a painting . And we start to think about peoples’ expectations. Will they like it? Am I doing well? Will I make it?
Let’s rethink creativity again. I have been experiencing this a lot recently. When great ideas come to me and they are so amazing that they surprise me I am pretty sure that they are not from inside of me. They come from outside. It’s not me to make something up but it is me to open for inspiration that will flow into my head. No need to worry and blame ourselves. It is a brilliant concept as it shows how much we should work on the environment we work in while doing creative stuff and how to prepare our minds, bodies and soul for inspiration that will hit us.
There also might be some other interpretation – great ideas don’t come from outside but from a true internal ME that is much more deeper than our level of thoughts.
Daniel Pink during his TED talk asks indirectly a fundamental question about why business demotivates creative people with externals rewards. Researches that were conducted for many years showed that innovative people rely on intrinsic motivation. By offering them financial bonuses we produce opposite results.
I always knew that internally driven people need to feel they are changing the world around them, that they are focused on growing and creating value as well as giving something to the society. But I never thought that by adding external rewards we are not only helping but even making things work.
Why does it happen so often nowadays in companies and public sector? One of the reasons is that building an exceptional work environment and culture like in Zappos is a hard work and only few can do it. Giving pay rises and bonuses is much easier.
It looks like we still use motivational mechanisms back from industrial age. Daniel Pink speaks out to help us all change the situation.
In order to enhance your creativity, to prevent being “a puppet of circumstances”, and to live up to your full potential, you need to take your focus away from extrinsic rewards – such as money, prestige, and so on – and, instead, place your focus on intrinsic rewards. That is, your main reason for performing your work should be your enjoyment of the task itself, the feeling of satisfaction you get from being involved in a given project, and the sense of meaning you derive from carrying out your work.
Rory Sutherland had a hilarious presentation on TED about marketing and how it really plays with our perception. He talks a lot about building intangible value where we take what we have in front of us and change the way people perceive it. I am sure you will find his examples funny & entertaining.
You can watch the best part from the presentation above where he talks about a marketing campaign for cereal called “Shreddies” and how the producer decided to add value and present the same product in a “revolutionary” new way.
“I reckon close to half the people that hire me as a Life Coach, have no clear defined idea of what they want out of the process or even what they are passionate about. They just feel stuck or like they are wasting their potential and want a lot more out of life even if they don’t know what that “more” entails. I have said here before, I often get a sense some people are embarrassed about this fact even though there’s…” http://www.adaringadventure.com/blog/wordpress/guest-posts/become-what-you-love/
Why Lifestyle Design Alone Isn’t The Key to Happiness
“Guest post by David Croushore of 30 Days at A Time I work typical 9 to 5 job in Washington, DC. I take a shuttle to work at the same time every day, follow a daily routine that involves my job, working out, and whatever side projects I’m pursuing at the moment. Every day, Monday to Friday, is similar if not exactly the same. This lifestyle makes me happy, but it also makes me curious. When I read about lifestyle design, I hear about location…” http://www.freepursuits.com/why-lifestyle-design-alone-isnt-the-key-to-happiness
How Badly Do You Want It?
“If I asked you to name a few things you currently want, it wouldn?t take long for you to fill out an entire page. ?I want a super lean body. I want to run a popular blog. I want to live a drama free life. I want to live a luxurious life style where I can buy gadget X or product Y.? And the list goes on. Hell, even I have a large list of things I hope to accomplish. But is what you listed what you REALLY want? Believe it or not…” http://www.pluginid.com/how-badly-do-you-want-it/
Strategic planning is for the birds
“I grew up in a large, rambling house in San Anselmo, California. It was built in 1906 by (rumor has it) drunk Irish brothers. It was a house that had “character” which was a kind thing to say when the roof started caving in and the planks sagged on the front porch. As the years went by, I faced common challenges just like my 1970?s peers: my parent’s got divorced, funds were tight on a single mom’s salary and…” http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/2010/03/25/strategic-planning-is-for-the-birds/
Paul Montwill specializes in Digital and E-commerce Strategies, Online Marketing and industry analysis. He is an E-commerce Sales Director in one of the European IT companies, a blogger and he offers consultancy.
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