Week 5
Paula Payne

Lab 1
Objective: Choose two articles and write a brief summary of each.

For this lab, please choose two (2) articles from the required reading for the Enhancing Creativity lecture. Make sure that these articles appeal to you on some level. Please choose from the following required readings found in the lecture:

Creative Tools and Techniques - From Enchanted Mind.
Creativity at Work: Articles and Tips - From Creativityatwork.com.
Creativity Articles - From Creatviityforlife.com

4 Ways to Replentish your Creative Spirit
http://creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/devl.htm
This article described 4 ways to enhance your creative:

1. What Were You Just Thinking?
   Notice your daydreams and see if you can relate them to the problem/project at hand. "Forced connections" is a technique where you think about the qualities of your daydream. For example, if you were thinking about the last movie you say, think about the qualities of the movie, what the movie symbolizes for you, and how that can help your project.
   
   
2. Capture Your Ideas
   Develop an idea file to store articles and pictures of people, places, things and ideas that please you that you have collected. Keep a notebook handy to record ideas that come to throughout the day.
   
   
3. Be Playful
   Become richly rewarded by applying your passion(s) to what pleases you. Bring the essence of what you loved to do as a child into your work. This will help you identify your talents and natural gifts.
   
   
4. Surround Yourself With Inspiring People
   Host a gathering of inspiring people let the creativity flow as the gathering progresses.
   

When Does Work Become Play?
http://www.creativityforlife.com/full_article.php?article_id=101
I work an average of ten hours a day and It occurred to me the other day that I am retired. Sounds paradoxical, however, it's true. My definition of retirement is the time in a person's life when she has the opportunity to do exactly what she wants to do all day. So, I'm retired. Are you?

The opening paragraph (quoted above) sums up this article quite nicely. Personally, I would add to it, "My definition of retirement is the time in a person's life when she has the opportunity to do exactly what she wants to do all day and get paid for it or have enough resources to live without a salary." ;-) The reality in today's world is that there are time you may have to work at something less than satisfactory to meet financial obligations. During those times, it's important to find some time during the week to do exactly what you want to do.

The article also describes steps for taking back your life by first setting asside a weekend just for yourself. Once your body and mind are full rested and nourished, consider the answers to the following 3 questions and write them in a new journal:

1. What is most important, most valuable and most significant to me in life?
2. If I based my life choices squarely on my answers above, how would I spend my time, my energy and my money?
3. What are the first five things you can do to begin matching your current life with your ideal life?

Lab 1 | Lab 2

Last modified: March 7, 2004