Posts tagged with "creativity"
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A big list of tools related to creativity http://lifedev.net/big-list-of-online-productivity-tools/Online Office Suites
Online Calendars
Online Documents
Online RSS Readers
Startpages
Invoice Managers
Time Tracking Services
Goal Tracking Services
Project Management Services
To-do Lists
Personal Organizers- calendars, to-do’s, etc. all rolled into one service
Sticky Notes
GTD Tools
Mind Mapping Tools
Online Collaboration Tools
Web-Based Operating Systems
Misc. Productivity Applications
Running
Music
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Tags: productivity, creativity, collaboration, tool, list of tools, calendar, todo, online office, rss reader, pm, goal tracking, organizer, mind mapping |
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An interesting list of tools boosting creativity http://lifedev.net/2008/03/19-online-destinations-for-boosting-creativity/1. SpringWise
- A database of great ideas that any entrepreneur can act on to help
you start the “next big thing”. There are some great, fun ideas, plus
they showcase the latest trends of entrepreneurship.
2. WhyNot?
- Much like SpringWise, WhyNot? has lots of user-submitted ideas for
any ambitious soul to take under their wing and develop. However,
WhyNot? is more of a community for entrepreneurs than SpringWise, which
can be a bit more helpful at times.
3. Digg
- You can find a smattering of news, tips and other odd things on the
Digg homepage. Digg’s users find the best of the web, and the community
voting does a wonderful job of showcasing quality news and compelling
links. You know it’s a good site when LifeDev has been on the homepage
a few times ;)
4. Del.icio.us Popular
- I love the del.icio.us popular page. One can find the most creative
and interesting articles and tools on the Internet on the Del.icio.us
popular page. It’s basically a barometer of what’s hot on the web with
designers and techies alike.
5. Tumblr
- Tumblr is another one of my personal favorites. Aside from creating
your own Tumblelog, the Tumblr homepage showcases the best links,
images and videos that people are sharing around the web.
6. Nasa’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
- Have a breathtaking shot of the cosmos, once a day. Nothing is more
inspiring and mysterious than outer space, in my humble opinion.
Perfect for shaking any sort of doldrums you might be in.
7. FlickrLeech
- If you’re a visual person and love to view creative photos, check out
FlickrLeech. You can browse just about any type of photo, plus the
default view of Flickr Interesting page is very handy, especially if you need some creative wallpapers for your desktop.
8. LifeRemix - Shameless plug? Maybe. But I visit the site every day and am almost always inspired by the quality of writing. Note: Yes, I’m the co-founder of LifeRemix ;)
9. DocStoc -
You can find some incredibly creative and informative documents that
can lead to many ideas. You’d be surprised at the great content you can
find at DocStoc.
10. WisdomQuotes -
Nothing inspires more than a great quote from someone smarter than
myself. I’ve done entire blog posts based on an inspiring quote.
11. Seth Godin’s blog
- Aside from his uber-savvy marketing advice, there are plenty of
untapped ideas and inspiration that he shares frequently with his
readership. And you better believe that if Seth Godin dreamed it up,
there’s a good chance he’s on the mark.
12. TechCrunch
- Mike Arrington and company constantly showcase the newest and the
best sites on the web at TechCrunch. There is plenty of inspiration
that can be found just by seeing the newest thing in web applications.
Many ideas I’ve had for web apps come directly from concepts introduced
through TechCrunch. Here’s a tip: If you’re wanting to create the next big web phenomena, hang on to their every word.
13. Kottke.org - Jason Kottke has been posting interesting and creative information on the web for the past 10 years. He’s a favorite of many bloggers, and rightly so.
14. BoingBoing
- One of the most popular blogs around, BoingBoing showcases the most
“wonderful things” on the web. Like Kottke, BoingBoing does the dirty
work of sifting through the web for the creme de la creme.
15. Google Docs
- While not expressly a site for finding information, GDocs is a great
tool for capturing ideas and thoughts. GDocs gives the perfect
flexibility for saving quick ideas and then expounding on them later.
16. How to Change the World
- Guy Kawaski is a fun guy with great ideas. Though his blog is geared
slightly more to the marketing crowd, it’s chock-full of great ideas. I
think the most stimulating thing about Guy’s blog is that it’s written
with great voice and lots of humor.
17. MindMeister - Although I’m personally not a huge fan of online apps for creativity’s sake (other than GDocs), many people do like
to use online mind-mapping tools for brainstorming. MindMeister is
right up there with the best of the online mind-mapping tools because
it’s quick and intuitive.
18. Twitter - Although the way I use twitter is more as a web service, (I use the twhirl
twitter client), Twitter can use your friends to help you find
interesting and creative articles to check out. You can quickly ask
your friends if anyone has an idea for XYZ, and odds are someone can
point you in the right direction. Also, your friends will most likely
link to content that you’ll find interesting as well.
19. Smashing Magazine - A site that shares useful and interesting bits for web developers and
designers. It likes to showcase the trendy and useful, which can
stimulate creative ideas for any reader. |
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http://creatingminds.org/An interesting website about CREATIVITY with lists of links (click boxes :"he Creative Tools") Welcome to the CreatingMinds site. Our goal is to provide you with
real and useful principles,
tools,
articles and quotes about all matters
around being creative and using creativity.
You can access all sections from the navigation bar on the left. Or
bounce off the hotlinks below.
Bookmark this page! We have started with a bang, including thousands of
quotations and many useful tools and articles.
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The New Oxford American Dictionary defines creativity as “the use of the imagination, or original ideas…” and while the use of original ideas may seem like an easy task, you and I both know how difficult it can really be.
Simply coming up with creative ideas can be extremely hard and time consuming, especially for - but not limited to - creative professionals; finding advice on fueling creativity is almost just as hard.
That’s why I have compiled this list of the top 10 ways to fuel your creativity. Use these methods whenever your creative juices are running low, and do your best to follow as many of the points as you can.
10. Carry a notepad with you. Creativity strikes when you least expect it, and when it does, you’ll need to be prepared. Get into the habit of carrying around a small notebook and a pen, or use your smart phone or other device to record creative ideas when they hit you. Even if the idea seems pointless at the time, having it written down may help you in the future when you are struggling to come up with creative ideas. Don’t say you’ll get a notepad tomorrow, buy one right now and find a way to take it with you everywhere you go.
9. Give yourself a break. Being able to write down creative ideas whenever you get them is a great start to fueling your creativity, but - if you’re like me - that isn’t going to be enough. In order to fuel your creativity you need to take time to relax and find creativity in everyday life. If you feel overwhelmed or stressed, your creative juices will be running slowly; but if you feel relaxed and comfortable, your mind will be more open to new, creative ideas.
8. Jolt your thinking. Another great way to fuel your creativity is to do what Chuck Green refers to as “jolt” thinking. It’s a technique that allows you to draw creative ideas from everything else around you by applying restrictions to your thinking. Here’s how you do it: when you need an idea simply close your eyes, turn around or change your perspective, open your eyes and then the first thing you see when you open your eyes is going to be your topic; try to come up with a creative idea related that incorporates the item - or the purpose of the item. Jolted thinking is based on the simple fact that freedom often hinders creativity.
7. Exercise your brain. Your brain, just like your muscles, needs to be worked out from time to time; exercising your brain allows your creativity levels to be increased - like muscles growing bigger. The best way to exercise your brain is to read or have strenuous discussions. Letting your brain get lazy by watching a lot of TV or sitting in front of the computer all day makes it weak, and your creativity levels will take a bit hit. Working out your brain from time to time will help you to come up with better, more original and creative ideas when you need them most.
6. Ask a lot of questions. Asking questions - even ones completely unrelated to what you are doing - has been proven to fuel creativity. You may not realize it, but when you ask yourself questions you are creating a mindmap and sorting through thousands of ideas with each question you ask. Asking a lot of questions means a lot of mindmapping, and a lot of mindmapping equals a lot of new creative ideas to work with. So don’t ever be afraid to ask questions, in-fact: ask a lot of questions every chance you get.
5. Pay attention to what others are doing. A great way to fuel your creativity is by finding inspiration in other’s work. That doesn’t mean you sit, evaluate, and duplicate other people’s work; it simply means that you need to pay attention to what others are doing with their work, and watch the changes they make over time. Often you will be able to find patterns in other’s creativity that will really fuel your own. A great example is the change in web design: web pages use to be full of animated images and tons of text and sound effects, now simpler, cleaner web pages are the trendy thing. Don’t copy other’s creativity, but do pay attention to what other’s are doing and try to find ways to improve on their work.
4. Don’t settle for one idea. Another great way to fuel your creativity is to not settle for just one idea when it strikes you. Instead, mull over multiple ideas, write them down in your notepad, ask questions about each idea, and expand each idea as much as you possibly can. By having a lot of creative ideas, your solution is bound to be a great one. As Linus Pauling once said: “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”
3. Be random. Creativity is best fueled when it is controlled by random inhibitions - which is why there is a big misconception about drugs fueling creativity. The way you can place random inhibitions on your creativity - other than by jolting your thinking, as mentioned on point 8 - is by using a random idea generator. Either flipping through a dictionary to find random words, or using this neat online idea generator, and then trying to come up with as many ideas linked to the random topic. By limiting your creativity slightly to something completely random, you are really fueling it.
2. Be confident. One of the biggest struggles people have when trying to fuel their creativity - and one issue I have had big problems with as a creative professional - is being confident in your creative abilities. Confidence is necessary to creating remarkable ideas. If you don’t think you can do it, you won’t. Having confidence in you creative abilities will allow you to really think outside the box, and accept ideas that may originally seem too risky (remember, if you aren’t willing to take creative risks, you’re not really being creative).
1. Quit worrying about risks. While having confidence is necessary to creating really great ideas, using that confidence to jump right into new ideas is just as important. Creating unbelievably remarkable ideas can only be achieved by being confident in your abilities, taking risks, and jumping right in. The Wright brothers first flight is a great example of jumping right in to bold ideas. Don’t worry about the risks too much, any creative idea is almost always worth any repercussions.
That completes the list. If you are having trouble with your creativity, resort back to this list for help and inspiration. And if you want to get more useful and remarkeable creative help, you can subscribe to Creative Something by clicking on the link below, or in the right side column on this page.
Photo by Jeffrey Lindsey.
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Searching for creative motivation or inspiration?
Each Monday you can find all of the creative insight you need right here at Creative Something, with “Motivation Monday”.
A few weeks ago I recommend a few books for helping you boost your creativity, one of those books was “Cracking Creativity” by Michael Michalko. For this weeks Motivation Monday I want to share a snippet from “Cracking Creativity” about how creative geniuses think differently than average thinkers.
On the third page of his book, Michalko states:
“Most people of average intelligence, given data or some problem, can figure out the expected conventional response to the problem. For example, when asked, ‘What is one-half of thirteen?’ most of us immediately answer six and one-half.”
Michalko continues, “Typically, we think reproductively, on the basis of similar problems encountered in the past. When confronted with problems, we fixate on something in our past that has worked before… . Then we analytically select the most promising approach based on past experiences, excluding all other approaches, and work in a clearly defined direction toward the solution of the problem.
In other words: average people solve problems based on what has worked in the past. We have been taught that half of thirteen is six and one-half, so we immediately give that response. Average people think reproductively. But - not surprisingly - creative geniuses think differently.
In contrast, geniuses think productively, not reproductively. When confronted with a problem, they ask themselves how many different ways you can look at the problem, how they can rethink it, and how many different ways they can solve it, instead of asking how they have been taught to solve it. They tend to come up with many different responses, some of which are unconventional, and possibly, unique. In response to the earlier question [of ‘What is one-half of thirteen?’], a productive thinker would say taht there are many different ways to express ‘thirdteen’ and many different ways to halve something.”
An example of how a creative genius would answer the question “What is one-half of thirteen” is: Thir and teen. “Thir” is approximately one half of the word “Thirdteen”, and “teen” is the other half. A creative genius sees a the original question differently.
If you want to think like a creative genius, you have to begin thinking productively - and start answering problems in unconventional, unique ways. And you don’t have to worry about being a creative genius, anyone can think productively. You just need to look at problems and ideas in unique ways.
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I have found an intersting blog about creativity and productivityThank you for stopping by my blog! My name is Andrea Flowers and I am the owner of Advanced Productivity Concepts ( http://www.advanced-productivity.com).
With a BA in English/Journalism, I began my career as a technical
writer writing user manuals and online Help systems for computer
software companies. For the past 16 years, I have written for large
companies, small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs alike. More
recently, I have transitioned into the role of virtual organizing and
productivity coach.
So how did I become a virtual organizing coach? Good question…
Looking to explore different options in my career path, I spent many
months searching for a new path. I had also just had a new baby and was
searching for an opportunity that would afford me the luxury of staying
home with her. One day, I was surfing the Internet and came across the
NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers)
Web site and a light bulb went off in my head. I realized that all the
skills I learned and practiced as a technical writer were 100%
transferable to the professional organizing arena and that my passion
for organizing information could be used to help people organize their
workspaces and increase productivity. After all, I had been organizing
information for 16 years…why not organize workspaces and filing systems?
As a virtual organizing and productivity coach, I work with small
businesses and entrepreneurs to help them reach their productivity
objectives. My main goal is to help people declutter their workplaces
and set up efficient filing, time, and paper management systems. I
pride myself in using innovative techniques and tools designed to
empower them with the
knowledge they need to spend more time building their businesses and
making more money. My versatile background and style allows me to think
outside of the box, without sacrificing quality or integrity.
In this blog, I will be giving you lots of information about how to
become more productive so you can live your life the way you want to
live it. |
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An interesting info
Posted March 5, 2008 We are all born with unbelievable creative capacities. As infants,
new ideas become our lives, and through creativity we discover the huge
world around us. How can you stay creative at work when creativity is so heavily avoided? By doing the following:
7. Surround yourself with motivation. Customizing your office
space is underrated. The guys over at one of the fastest growing
companies in the world know that your work environment plays a major
roll on your creativity at work; I’m talking, of course, about Google.
One look at the Google offices
and you’ll realize just how influential toys and other creative
inspiration in your work space can be. Surround yourself with colorful,
creative things and you will subconsciously feel a bit more free to
explore your creativity.
6. Don’t make creativity into work. Avoid turning your
creativity into an element of work. Work means something is at stake
(often your job) and can really restrict your creativity. Applying
rules and restrictions to your creativity through work isn’t good. As
Mattias Konradsson once said: “The trick is to teach yourself to ignore
rules, conventions, and must-be’s. If you’re creating art, just doodle.
If you’re writing, just scribble. If you’re a lawyer, change occupation
(source: A List Apart).”
5. Do something different today. Instead of walking into the
office and going through your usual work routine, try something
different. Something different can be as simple as talking to coworkers
about their weekend before even sitting down at your desk, or drawing
(not writing) goals for the day on a piece of paper. Do something
different - something new - on a daily basis. D. Keith Robinson said it
best when he said: “Trying something you’ve never done will almost
certainly get you thinking in new, more creative ways (source: Graphic Define).”
4. Get plenty of rest. You have probably heard this a million
times before, but trust me when I tell you that getting plenty of rest
will help you greatly through-out your day. When your mind and body are
tired, they are not going to cooperate with your commands. Your mind
will not have enough energy and focus to create new ideas, let alone
work, if it is tired. Take a short power nap
on your lunch break, or - if you can afford to - take the rest of the
day off and get some sleep at home. Your boss won’t mind the extra
boost of energy you’ll have the next day, and your creativity will be
running at full throttle if you have had enough rest.
3. Quit worrying about finding inspiration. When your boss
puts you on a new project, or when you have to come up with a new idea
for the business, you’ll want inspiration. And when that inspiration
isn’t coming, the best thing to do is not worry about it. Cartoonist,
and professional blogger, Hugh MacLeod hit the nail on the head when he
wrote: “[Don’t] fret too much about “writer’s block”, “artist’s block”
or whatever. If you’re looking at a blank piece of paper and nothing
comes to you, then go do something else. Writer’s block is just a
symptom of feeling like you have nothing to say, combined with the
rather weird idea that you SHOULD feel the need to say something
(source: Gaping Void).”
2. Pamper yourself. Sometimes creativity is fueled simply by
giving one’s self all the attention. Taking a few minutes to do
whatever it is you want for yourself (like buying that new TV or
finishing up a project for yourself) is a great way to change your
frame of mind. However, setting aside a few minutes for yourself during
the work day may be difficult to do. Ask your boss if you can take 10
minutes for your own projects/whatever, and they may just let you get
away with it. And if you work for yourself then there isn’t a problem
with setting some time aside for yourself. Go ahead, take a break and
pamper yourself a bit. You deserve it (and it will help you stay
creative).
1. Find the time when you are most creative. Our body and
brains are remarkable machines that run on cycles; and just as there is
a good time to sleep, there is a good time for creativity. Identifying
when you are most creative can benefit you greatly and help you stay
creative through-out the day. “Find out when you’re at your creative
best, and start using that time to your advantage; save your least
creative time to do the mundane administrative aspects of your job
(source: A List Apart).”
Work often hinders creativity, but by surrounding yourself with
motivation, not making creativity into work, doing something different
everyday, getting plenty of rest, not worrying about finding
inspiration, spending some time on yourself, and finding the time when
you are most creative, you can easily stay creative in the workplace
everyday. READ FULL PAPER |
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