Day Dreaming

Day dreaming is an excellent creativity technique. Sit yourself down in a comfortable chair, away from the noise and other distractions. Have a notebook and pen close by or even better a digital voice recorder. Now close your eyes, relax and let your mind wander.

Imagine yourself going to distant places. In your mind’s eye, what do you see, feel, and hear? Can you transport yourself to outer space or some undiscovered place? Take yourself into the future – what is the world around you like? What devices are available to you?

Alter your view of things around you by flying into the sky and looking down on the world below you.

Think of everyday tasks that you perform and try and imagine how different they would be two hundred years into the future.

Try and imagine a world where everything is different to your common perceptions, where things are bigger or smaller, faster or slower, louder or quieter or where things are back to front/upside down.

Also, take yourself back to your childhood. Imagine what a perfect day as a child would be. What toys are you playing with? What are you eating, seeing, and doing?

Now use your pen and notepad or voice recorder to note all the things that you experienced.

Everyone has enormous creative potential and this technique is great at demonstrating that fact.

After attempting this exercise you will likely be surprised at just how creative you actually are.

Analyze the notes that you have taken. Could any of the ideas you have recorded add value and be achievable?

Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was discovered only when Einstein let his mind daydream away from the actual associated mathematics.

It is said that organic chemist August Kekulé, physicist Leo Szilard and biochemist Kary Mullis came up with some of their core theories, revelations and ideas while doing such mundane activities as simply walking the dog, driving the car or taking a bath. The classics from the Bronte sisters came about from them pretending to be children.

For day dreaming to be at its most effective you need to make sure you do it when you’re not overly tired. Having a hard stressful day in the office and then collapsing on the sofa in front of the TV is unlikely to provide you with any creative ideas. So set some time aside earlier in the day when your energy levels are still high.

Lying down or sitting comfortably and staring out of a window is a great way of working. You probably don’t need to spend too much time doing this activity either. Ten or so minutes is probably all you need to let your mind wander just enough for some creative thoughts to start to form.

Remember, relaxing and taking a well-earned break can sometimes result in an even bigger break!