6 Steps to Get Your Creativity Flowing

Lists often come from the organized, analytical left side of your brain, and to solve an intractable problem, you want to engage the right, the creative side. a mind map instead. Get a big piece of paper and start in the center with a circle that contains the original problem. Write different solutions, and follow paths outward on the page, limb by limb, pushing beyond the obvious. To plan a party, for example, I put "A great dinner party for friends" in the middle, and among the many branches, one went: "Make your own sundaes → mashed potatoes → have dessert first → sit on floor → indoor picnic." Another branch went: "Progressive dinner → go to different restaurant for dessert(s) → show up at friends' houses uninvited → scavenger hunt to find food." A third: "Teach something → learn something → juggling → magic trick → expert invitee on food/wine." Your to-do list will just get you from point A to B.