You’re so busy, who’s got time to be creative? But… that’s exactly what we need to do more than ever. Here are five quick and easy ways to shake things up.

1. Imagine your life on a video camera, and imagine that you are someone else watching the show. What feedback can you give?

2. Make a small change both physically (move your lamp – change anything). Change one small habit, maybe the order in which you do something. Like brushing your teeth or starting the car. Not kidding, small breaks in routines can trigger new associations.

3. Imagine yourself living in another country. What would you be doing, or be wearing?

4. Read one book or watch one TV program you normally wouldn’t. Garbage in, garbage out. Your brain needs to exercise. In one study, those who read a bizarre short story showed a greater ability to recognize hidden patterns in a pattern recognition task (Proulx, 2009).

5. Mix opposites. Ideas develop from opposites held together. Nobel Laureates (Rothenberg, 1996) use Janusian thinking involving simultaneous opposites. There’s more in this book – it’s good you should buy it. :-)