What helped me greatly was a little piece of paper (moleskin) and a pen. In theory i could not all things in my smartphone. But the lure of the paper as a sketch material for ideas is unbroken. Just have it with you wherever you go and that paper fills itself.
Do not write whole essays, just single words if needed, just to anchor your "interest" in a thought direction.
Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
31–40 of 77 posts
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#32Riding bikes helps me think:
https://journal.dedasys.com/2015/04/20/the-bicycle-a-thinkin...
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#33Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#34How about helping me lose weight.
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#35Relatedly, I’ve tried to reduce my habit of listening to podcasts on long walks. I didn’t realize (until way too late) that this habit was stealing creative time from my brain. Podcasts flip my brain into “passive media consumer” mode during what were otherwise my most intellectually creative minutes and hours, and nonfiction/business/tech podcasts also fool my ego into thinking that the podcast listening time is “pr…
I have the opposite problem where I get into a creative thinking mode and tune out the podcast Sometimes I'll stop a podcast during a walk and switch to music if I actually want to focus on it at a later time (many podcasts I listen to are kind of background noise for me though)
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#36N=48; are there similar studies with larger N?
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#37As someone who tends to walk a lot (often, alone), most of the ideas I get (and solutions for problems) come up while walking. That's why I like to say "walking is thinking".
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#38I wish they would have also tested running (unless I missed it). Is there a benefit (with respect to thinking/creativity) to walking over running? I think that would be quite interesting...
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#39I am 8 years an addict to HIIT via Les Mills Bodypump. High rep low weight. Some of my best thinking is when I “time travel” through an uncomfortable 5-min track by thinking about one particular tech/bug/architecture decision. Being immersed in thought means my workout is done before I know it.
I’m not sure how I can do this sometimes but can’t 1) talk to my spouse while doing these exercises or, 2) listen to podcasts. It isn’t something I can force. It’s almost like a hypnosis.
Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)
#40Counter-point to valid point: exercise can go by more quickly if you're interested in a podcast. And when I'm done exercising, I may not want the podcast on, so I can then focus on work. Just as certain kind of music can be on when, say, you're writing code, a good podcast can keep me in a groove.