Page 116 - Free the Idea Monkey

3. Open streams of consciousness. Purging is a great way to
make new connections and create bigger ideas.

Have a tough challenge to solve? Get a giant piece of paper (write
small if you can’t find one). In each quarter of the paper, write a key
word related to the challenge. For example, if you
want to plan a cool family vacation, you
might write the words “destinations,”
“transportation,” “kids” and “fun.”

Then, in no particular order, begin
to brainstorm any word that comes to
mind when you think of each of the key
words. For example, for “transportation”:
plane, train, automobile, John Candy, pil-
lows, sleep, sleeping bag, tent, tree house,
memories, dreams, daydreams, smells, pop-
corn, movies, adventure, pirates, islands, Swiss Family Robinson.
Eventually, you will begin to make connections, and ideas that unify
the key aspects of your goal will pop off the page.

(Imagine how much fun you’ll have explaining to your family
how you came up with the idea of renting a tree house for your vaca-
tion in Costa Rica. They didn’t see that one coming.)

Remember: Strive for as many words as you can, and don’t
judge the words. Judging is looking at the traffic when you are driv-
ing—it keeps you from coming up with ideas. Eliminate the traffic.

You can employ this simple technique yourself or do it in groups.
Build on this idea: You can also do this at work.
4. Schedule your daydreaming. We all have a time of day when
our brains work the best. For many, it is first thing in the morning,
before rush hour. Unfortunately, the CrackBerry addiction has many
of us checking our e-mail just when our brains are the most capable
of creating.
Tip: Professional trainers track the exercise regiments of athletes,
charting at what time of day they are at their strongest and/or have
the most energy. One reason they do this is to identify each athlete’s
natural cycle so they can push them harder at just the right time.

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