self-reflection:
Think about when you are doing your best creative work:
- where are you?
- what is important about your environment?
- what things do you need to have at hand?
- what time of the day is it?
- what did you do just before you entered into this state?
Think about what disrupts your creative flow:
- what environments are too distracting?
- at what times during the day do you lack focus?
- what sounds, smells or other sensory inputs put you off?
- what else takes you off track?
Think about how you best relax to allow your thoughts to incubate and marinate:
- what do you do to wind down?
- what sort of activities help your ideas to just bubble up?
- what inspires you and makes you happy?
- what type of exercise relaxes or rejuvenates you?
- what is the best place and time for you to quieten your mind?
taking action:
Based on this new self-awareness, create a daily plan for the next 7 days that will really help you optimize your creative flow.
Bring the group together and ask everyone to share:
- when and where do you get your best ideas?
- what sorts of things disrupt your creative flow?
Ask the group to share what they’ve learned from the discussion.
Create agreements around how to respect each person’s individual preferences.
In this short video clip (13.51 mins) Nathaniel Drew tries out Da Vinci’s daily routine for the day. Discover what happened!
