From the course: Breaking Out of a Rut
Solve something new
- Solve something new. Creativity is nothing more than problem-solving with relevance and novelty. Oftentime the creative ruts we find ourselves in have to do with the problems we are solving. Perhaps they don't provide the inspiring levels of relevance or novelty we would like. If this is the case, it's imperative for us to find problems to solve that do. They don't have to be real problems. We can make them up. As a matter of fact, made-up problems will often be more fun to solve than real problems, because we can control the restrictions around them. Think of them as creative exercises. Creative exercises can come in various degrees of difficulty. Let's start with the most basic of creative exercise, the doodle. Take a piece of paper and draw a circle, a square, and a squiggly line. Now, simply turn each of them into something else. Or if you see a connection between the three shapes, use them all in the same drawing. Looking for something a little more challenging? Try giving yourself 11 minutes to design the ultimate backpack. Money's no object. Include whatever features you can imagine. Want something even harder? Okay, how about building a working toy car out of what you can reach right now. Or take pictures of objects that look like the letters used to spell your name. You can invent any type of exercise you like if you remember two simple rules. It must have a problem to solve, and there must be restrictions in place. Have at it.
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