photo credit: evelynishere
Did you know you will read a post-it note with a reminder message up to 150 times in one work day, if it’s posted to your computer or somewhere you can easily see it?
You may only consciously read it once or twice, but your brain is consistently processing the information that comes into vision, and you actually read it many times when it is in front of you.
What’s this got to do with how to encourage creative and critical thinking for both yourself and your team? Actually everything..
If you and your team want to tap into your creative side to solve a problem, you need to create an environment that encourages creative thinking. And what is one of the best ways of doing this? You’ve got it in one. By doing a quick desk and work area de-clutter.
De-clutter your own work area
Your personal work space, your desk and the office area, is indicative of your state of mind. If you clutter up your work area with many papers, pens, post-it notes with reminders, and other objects, your brain is constantly overwhelmed with messages from your eyes.
This means your brain is too busy processing the same information several times and cannot clearly concentrate on the real problem at hand. While you don’t need to create a stark work environment, clearing the desk of all clutter can really help your own creative juices to start flowing.
Before you start a personal brainstorming session, spend some time clearing your desk. Do things like:
- Put any work that is for long term projects in a file, rather than in your in-tray.
- Put any reminder notices in a small pile and pop them into your top drawer.
- Have a designated place for all your pens and other stationery items, such in a tray in the top drawer or in a desk holder.
- Put any papers that do not immediately relate to what you are doing away in an appropriate file and out of sight in your work area.
Now, you can sit down with a clear mind. Most people find that brainstorming sessions are more effective when writing notes or ideas on paper, rather than trying to keep up with the flow of ideas typing on the computer. Have a clean piece of paper in front of you. Start by writing down the problem and then allow your mind to freely roam and focus on the issue. Now that you have a clear work environment, you will find it much easier to focus on the problem and to creatively generate ideas.
Create a Clean Team Environment for Everyone
The same applies for the team’s creative environment. While you don’t want to create a stark, cold, or unresponsive type atmosphere, similar to a jail or an institution, you do want to remove distractions from the room, especially when you want your team to generate many creative ideas.
The majority of people will walk into the meeting with some papers of some kind – usually, the printed emails about the meeting, notes on their own ideas, or previous minutes.
When you are facilitating a brainstorming session, and want everyone to focus on what is happening in the team, rather than taking notes or getting distracted by other paperwork, you can ask everyone to put the papers on the floor, or create a single pile of the papers in a back corner of the room.
Then with a clear work environment, the team members will be free to clear their minds and focus on generating creative solutions to the problem.
It is simple to de-clutter an environment before you start a creative thinking task. However, because many people neglect to do so often idea generation sessions become stymied and stale. Don’t let your environment ruin your creativity, or the creativity of your team.
