8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

Not everyone is usually stricken with great ideas in the middle of the night. But many need - or want - creative solutions to work. If this is your case, rest assured.
Creativity is a matter of training, according to the psychologist, PhD and researcher Keith Sawyer, author of the book Zig Zag: TheSurprising Path to Greater Creativity. (Must Read)

In his book, Sawyer points out a path that only requires dedication and discipline in order to have good insights. Based on his ideas - and on a text published in the magazine Inc. -, below are an eight-step roadmap to increase the capacity to find unusual solutions to problems and even to create new products in the market.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND UNUSUAL SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

1. Ask the right question.

a) Before you ask “but what is the right question”, here are some techniques to find out for yourself: without thinking too much, make a list of ten different questions that can be used to solve the same question. Try different points of view. Example: if you want a more efficient mousetrap, instead of asking yourself: "How do I create a more efficient mousetrap?", You can ask: "How can I make my garden more attractive to rats than my home?" or "What would the mice like to eat?", among others.

b) Uncover the hassles of everyday life.

That is, be critical of the products or situations you encounter on a daily basis. Make a list of what you don't like and why. What are the possible ways of solving these problems?

c) Do something new and test other purposes.

Only after putting action into practice, you will really know how it can be used. Before that, they are just guesses. So, once you have an idea, think of alternative ways to apply it, in addition to the first purpose that led you to develop it.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

2. Become an expert.

Research shows that to become an expert on something, you need to practice it for ten thousand hours - just once or another, it doesn't work. According to Sawyer, only exhaustive knowledge of a subject can generate something new around it. For this, some possible methods.
Already emphasized on mastering the domain in 7 STEPS TO BECOME CREATIVE
But How?

a) Watch inspiring TED talks to get inspired.

Listen to wonderful people and their wonderful speeches must help you in several dimension. Listening to them is like surrounding yourself with wonderful productive people and it will enhance your productivity and your way of thinking.

b) Know a subject in several different ways, think subject in different ways, try to think from a different angle. For example, if you want to learn about a profession, research about the country in which it originated, read the biography of someone in the field with an established career, see films about the historical period, find out the sector's average remuneration concerning the market whatever else your creativity allows.

c) Adopt a mentor.

Someone who knows more than you about the topic and is available to teach you.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

3. Always be open and attentive.

Paying attention to what happens around you and making connections with other themes and possibilities is essential for training creativity. Do not just stick to what has a clear purpose at that moment, but remain available for meetings, readings and unpretentiously experiences. The advice is to say "yes" to almost all invitations - explicit or not.

For example, a friend wants to introduce you to another friend. Accept. Someone you met recommended a reading that has nothing to do with your area of interest or practice. Buy the book and take at least a look. Heard someone you like to talk about a movie that tells a real story you've never heard of, go to the cinema to check it out.

This exercise keeps you out of autopilot, helps to keep your gaze clear.

Another tip is to not stop at stereotyped definitions of people, products or stories. Instead of believing what you have been told, seek information until you form your own impression on the topic.

Even if you do not use this knowledge acquired immediately, they are kept in your mental files and, suddenly, are remembered and help you in creating something new in the future.

a) Create your own luck.

The research presented in some books shows that people who describe themselves as lucky tend to perceive what happens around them more than unhappy and pessimistic people. They also tend to be more curious, while those who don't believe in their own luck are more tense and so focused on immediate results that they miss opportunities that escape the script.

b) Don't be discouraged if things go wrong.

Before a big invention, in general, there are dozens or hundreds of failed attempts. Didn't it go as expected? Study the case, learn from what didn't work and move on.

c) Play with toys.

According to the author, these children's objects are great for stimulating unusual connections. She says that companies that encourage the creativity of their employees often have toys scattered around the environments.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

4. Relax your mind and imagine

When you allow yourself to think about things that don't exist, your mind can wander and your subconscious has time to work. That is why time off work is so important to boost your creativity.

a) Imagine the future.

Do the exercise of imagining how you will be in five years and what you will have to do to be this. Then, list the obstacles you may encounter along the way and create solutions for them.

b) Leave something unfinished at the end of the day.

Sawyer says that not finishing a task can help him start over the next day. After some time away from the subject, when looking again at the same topics, the tendency is that the new look helps to generate creative ideas.

c) Start some to practice something new.

Take the risk of learning something you didn't know how to do before. It can be a sport, an art, a logical exercise, the important thing is to venture into a new environment.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

5. Generate ideas.

This is the part where you start to effectively formulate ideas.

a) Imagine different applications for an object.

A pen can also, be a hairpin (similar to those sticks that hold buns). You can also act as a ruler, as a support for drawing a straight line. A glass bottle can not only hold liquids but can also function as a flower vase.

Spend a few minutes on this game of imagining different functions for a product. No matter how stupid your idea looks.

b) Make free associations between words.

Without thinking too much, let one word pull the other through different connections. For example, if you think of one food, then you can think of another. Then, associate the sound of the word to another. Then, remember the verse of a song with that last one. And so on. Uncensored

c) Set a time to exercise creativity.

Take a few minutes in your daily schedule, preferably at the same time, to write down the ideas that come to mind on paper, without worrying about their nature. At this point, avoid thinking about pending issues or commitments. Leave your mind as unoccupied and free as you can for ideas to spring up.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

6. List ideas.

a) Create stories.

One method is to choose three random words - or ask someone to choose them for you - and create a short narrative that involves them all. Another possibility is to take the same page number and look for it in three books. Select a sentence from each one and form a paragraph that makes sense.

b) Use analogies.

Describe objects not by their obvious characteristics, but by the application they offer. Look for unusual ways to explain what a notebook is, for example. Instead of saying that it is a pile of leaves bound by a spiral, you can say that it is a place where people make the records they want, like an improvised and unique book. Repeat the operation several times, on the same product.

c) Approach people other than you.

People with professions that you don't know well, such as those you don't identify with. Or from other cities and countries. Join those who have a religion you disagree with. In all cases, try to understand how that person sees the world. What elements can this perspective add to your points of view?

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

7. Choose the best ideas.

a) List all your ideas.

Take the list of ideas that you have produced up to this stage and make them compete with each other. One is good, but the other is better. Then, the good is eliminated.

b) Ready to accept criticism.

Play the devil's advocate and think of all the criticisms that this idea may suffer. What can make it go wrong? Anticipate problems to solve them already.

c) Do this as much as you can.

There is no time when the idea will be ready. What determines that the improvement of the idea is interrupted, in general, is the deadline. As long as you have time, work on it. You can always improve.

8 MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

8. Do something concrete with your idea.

It can be a drawing, a collage or a three-dimensional object. It doesn't matter if you don't have your artistic streak developed. What counts is the exercise of transforming problems and questions into images.

Even if your question is abstract, like the relationship with another person, translate your feelings and questions into doodles, shapes or even a cartoon. This exercise literally helps to shape ideas.

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