How to Improve Your Creative Thinking and Embrace Finitude

How to Improve Your Creative Thinking and Embrace Finitude

Introduction:
In a productivity-obsessed culture, we often believe that forcing ourselves to focus will lead to more creative thinking. However, research suggests that the narrowness of our thinking actually increases when we try too hard to concentrate. This article explores the importance of giving ourselves a break, maintaining and strengthening connections, and embracing the concept of finitude to enhance our creative thinking.

1. Embracing Mind Wandering and Creative Incubation:
   Counterintuitively, allowing our minds to wander and "space out" can actually benefit our creative thinking. Mind wandering allows us to explore, retrieve, and experiment with connecting our memories in different ways. By giving ourselves a break and not forcing our creativity, we open up the possibility for serendipitous connections to occur. Furthermore, creative ideas often spark after a period of creative incubation. It is important to understand that creative thinking cannot be replicated on a schedule, and sometimes, the best ideas come to us when we least expect them.

2. Strengthening Connections:
   Our minds are efficient in the sense that they only retain information that is regularly used. When we read or consume information without revisiting or using it later, the connections between ideas fade over time. To maintain and strengthen connections, it is essential to take notes, make highlights, and revisit material when it is related to our current thoughts. Treating our own writing as a conversation with ourselves through time can help reactivate and situate information in a new context where we have gained more experience. Engaging in conversations with others through reading or listening also stimulates creativity and deepens existing associations.

3. Building a Rich Memory Bank:
   To widen our divergent thinking funnel, we might be tempted to seek out new ideas that are vastly different from our own. However, this approach is not always effective. Instead, it is better to make incremental steps outside our own filter bubble. New information must overlap somewhat with what we already know to be effectively associated and assimilated. Therefore, it is crucial to read voraciously and engage deeply with a wide variety of content. By doing so, we build a richer memory bank that provides us with a broader range of ideas to draw from and tap into our creativity.

Tools for Embracing Finitude:
In addition to improving our creative thinking, embracing the concept of finitude can also enhance our productivity and well-being. Here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Paying Attention to Every Moment:
   To find novelty in our lives, we don't necessarily need to do radically different things. Instead, we can plunge more deeply into the life we already have. By paying closer attention to every moment, even the mundane ones, we can discover new perspectives and insights that fuel our creativity.

2. Prioritizing and Focusing:
   Instead of trying to tackle all our responsibilities and ambitions at once, it is more effective to train ourselves to tolerate anxiety and consciously postpone tasks. Keeping two to-do lists, an open list with everything on our plate and a closed list with a fixed number of entries, helps us prioritize and focus on completing tasks incrementally. By deciding in advance what areas of life we are willing to underachieve in, we can allocate our time and energy more effectively and reduce the pressure to excel in every aspect.

3. Celebrating Accomplishments:
   To maintain motivation and a positive mindset, it is essential to focus not only on what's left to complete but also on what we have already accomplished. Keeping a "Done List" allows us to track our daily achievements and serves as a reminder of our productivity. Each entry on the list is a cheering reminder of what we have accomplished, even on days when we feel like we haven't done enough.

In conclusion, improving our creative thinking requires both giving ourselves a break and engaging in deliberate practices. Embracing mind wandering, creative incubation, and maintaining connections are crucial for enhancing our creative abilities. Additionally, embracing finitude by paying attention to every moment, prioritizing and focusing, and celebrating accomplishments can have a profound impact on our productivity and overall well-being. By incorporating these practices and embracing the concept of finitude, we can unlock our creative potential and lead more fulfilling lives.