Quiet Mind; A Powerful Tool That Gives You More Time, Creativity, And Productivity And Takes Just 10 – Stress-Management
Quiet Mind; A Powerful Tool That Gives You More Time, Creativity, And Productivity And Takes Just 10
The National Center for health statistics reported that in 1997, doctors made two million diagnoses of "Acute reaction to stress" when patients were seen for check-ups or complaints of headaches, stomach problems, immune system disturbances and some heart problems. These were usually a direct result of chronic stress and overwhelm, patients were trying to do it all with no time just for themselves, the resulting complaints were making it harder to get things done and causing lasting health problems.By spending a minimum of ten minutes a day alone you can reduce your stress hormones and improve your immune functions. Using the refrain I'm just too busy to have ten minutes of quiet all to myself is really slowing us down, making us less productive, and opening us to the risk of severe stress related disorders. Periods of solitude have been proven to be as vital to our health as good food, sleep, and water.There are many ways and places to give yourself your daily solitude; some people like to sit quietly and meditate, others find listening to soothing music helps them recharge. Walking your dog or gardening are also great ways to get your solitude. A few requirements to make sure you are getting the full benefits of your quiet time are to make sure you are being present in the silence or activity you are doing, rather than running over that to-do list again, or thinking of all the things you need to accomplish once you get done with this 10 minute solitude break you are having. The real value of taking at least a 10 minute daily break is that you give your mind a rest. If thoughts come up you can just notice them and release them, or write them down on a small pad so you can look at them again later. We have a great wealth of insight and wisdom within us but we never stop to tap into it.Make the 10 minutes a priority in your day and you'll find you have more energy, greater clarity, and are able to be creative and focus on the things you would like to achieve and make them happen with ease and be more fulfilled then you had ever imagined.I usually introduce this idea of taking a solitude break to my clients during the first month of our coaching, there is resistance at first but once they have experienced the feeling of being recharged and the insights they gain they schedule time every day sometimes twice a day for a break just to be alone. One of my clients was stuck in a position she didn't like. The money was terrific and she used that as an excuse to put up with the long hours and the lack of passion she felt day in and day out. I made a request that she set aside 10 minutes a day to just be by herself.As I requested this she became fidgety and spent the next five minutes listing all of the reasons why it wouldn't be possible to add this one more thing to here overwhelmed schedule. After talking a bit more my client acknowledged that she never had any time just to herself and she found the idea appealing, she started with five minutes a day.Early in the morning before work she would sit in her sunny kitchen window seat and just watch the sun begin its day. After only four days of this she called me to say that spending this time alone had given here a recharge and she was ready to explore new career ideas and make a change.She increased her solitude time to 30 minutes a day and within 4 months she had found a job in a similar field doing work that paid more but also gave an outlet for here creativity and left her feeling happy, with a sense she was making a difference at the end of the day.About The Author
Creativity and Innovation Management
Creativity and Innovation Management - Motivation
Motivation in creativity and innovation is more important than personality traits. This is like possessing high intelligence ? one must be motivated to improve and apply it.It is compelling that motivation and creative output are positively correlated. The more motivated an individual, the more likely he or she is to engage in the task at various cognitive levels until an outcome is achieved.Contrary to many assertions, factors that make up motivation can be isolated, monitored and measured using standard quantitative techniques.This allows a leader, consultant or manager to measure and improve motivation with a corresponding rise in creative output.There are broad and specific categories of motivation.Broad categories (Amabile, 1983):a) Intrinsic motivation - that where fulfillment is reached by attaining the solution to the problem itself, the activity is engaged in for its own sake. Characteristics of intrinsically motivated people include commitment to work, passionate involvement, total absorption and devotion to their work, interest and satisfaction in their work, challenged by their work.b) Extrinsic motivation ? that where the achievement of the task results in the fulfilment of an ulterior end, rather than the task itself. It is the motivation to engage in an activity primarily in order to meet some goal external to the work itself, such as attaining an expected reward, winning a competition or meeting some requirement.Extrinsic motivation is itself split into two categories: synergistic and non-synergistic. Synergistic extrinsic motivators provide information or enable the person to better complete the task and act in accordance with intrinsic motives. Non-synergistic reward leads a person to feel controlled and is incompatible with intrinsic motivation.A number of specific categories exist, including:a) The gap between the person's ideal and real self. If an individual perceives that he is not what he wishes to be, he is more likely to be motivated to engage in activities that bring him closer to his ideal self.b) The perceived enjoyability of the task. Terms such as "fun," "amusing," "fascinating" and "inspiring" are common.c) The degree of challenge. The more a task is perceived as challenging and competency expanding, the more the intrinsic motivation.d) Feasibility. If a task is perceived to be unreachable, intrinsic motivation decreases.e) Control of ones destiny. If an individual perceives that a task is not under his control, then intrinsic motivation decreases.f) Recognition is noted by many to be a powerful driver of task engagement.************************************These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a DIY Audit, Powerpoint Presentation and Good Idea Generator Software) from http://www.managing-creativity.com.You are free to reproduce this article as long as the author's name and site URL are retained. A link to the MBA dissertation would be appreciated.Rate this article (below).Kal Bishop MBA is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com
Creativity Management ? Productivity As A Job
Creativity Management ? Productivity As A Job
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted. Productivity as a job It is often the case that individuals "wait for inspiration" before they embark on their creative and innovative endeavours. However, this misses the mark for a number of reasons:a) Engagement in the task gets the mind working on the task at various cognitive levels ? problems are identified and subconsciously the mind searches for solutions. When ideas then arrive, they are labelled as insight or inspiration. Insight or inspiration is increased in frequency and duration when the creator or innovator dives into the task.b) The key to quality is prolific output. By treating the endeavour as a job, small goals and incremental deadlines increase output to a far greater degree than a "do your best" approach or a "I'll do it when I'm ready" approach.c) There are a significant number of blocks working on the mind at any one time. Together this is called "resistance." Unless a conscious and sustained effort is made to counter them, they remain obstacles.d) Climbing the experience curve requires energy expenditure. By treating the endeavour as a job, the experience curve is attacked and overcome much more rapidly.e) All of the above do not detract from the requirement of motivation, which includes aspects such as: joy for the endeavour, competency expansion, feasibility, self-determination etc.These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com/You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.Kal Bishop, MBA**********************************You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com/