How can you remind yourself of the importance of thinking outside the box on a regular basis? This day and age, everyone is getting just about everything delivered to their doorstep on a regular basis. From toiletries to groceries, the boxes keep piling up for all of us. The next time you have a delivery waiting on your doorstep, however, there may be a little something extra waiting for you.
Your Daily Reminder
Use this image as a reminder of the importance of thinking outside the box. So what the heck is “thinking outside the box” anyway?
Thinking outside the box simply means that you’re willing to consider different solutions and methods for reaching your desired outcome.
Entrepreneur.com
The keyword here is…
Think!
Most people don’t allow themselves time to simply think about the things they have going on in their life – their family, relationships, job, health, etc. After all, that time could be spent doing more, right? Well, yes, but probably doing more poorly. Most people tend to focus on piling more on their plate but not on ways they can effectively deal with what’s already on their plate.
Give Yourself Some Time
If you start to build in some time for yourself to escape the daily grind, even for just a few minutes here and there, you may find that the things you have going on in your life start to improve.
- Your current tasks at work may start to become easier once you have a chance to think through what’s being asked of you, why it’s being asked of you and the best way to approach it.
- Relationships may get stronger, resulting in less pointless drama to take up your precious time and energy.
- Efficiency in the workplace and less time spent on repairing relationships may give you back a few extra minutes a week to squeeze in a workout or two, which over time will have a profound impact on your health.
Oddly enough, time away from “doing things” may result in you having more time to do things better. Naturally, giving yourself some time to think will result in thinking a bit differently than if you try to do so with texts, emails, calls and meetings all coming your way at a rapid pace…in other words, you will find yourself starting to “think outside the box”.
Some Ways You Can Start Thinking Outside the Box
Establishing a reminder for yourself is a great start. Doing this alone puts you far ahead of those that aren’t thinking productively in their spare time. So now that it’s on your mind, what are some ways that you can start thinking outside the box on a regular basis? Here are a few ways to get some thoughts flowing.
Go for a walk.
It’s not news to anyone that after a walk you just feel better. The blood starts flowing, your body warms up, you have a chance to clear your head and you may have time to connect with a walking partner.
Healthline.com published a great article that provides 10 benefits of walking. Of course, all of these benefits are helpful in establishing a healthy life for yourself but the last one lines up pretty well with this post:
Creative Thinking – Walking may help clear your head and help you think creatively. A study that included four experiments compared people trying to think of new ideas while they were walking or sitting. Researchers found participants did better while walking, particularly while walking outdoors. The researchers concluded that walking opens up a free flow of ideas and is a simple way to increase creativity and get physical activity at the same time. Try to initiate a walking meeting with your colleagues the next time you’re stuck on a problem at work.
Healthline.com
If you’re still not sold on the idea of going for walks to boost your creativity, guess who else swore by going for walks on a regular basis and used this idea of walking meetings regularly? None other than Steve Jobs, perhaps one of the most creative thinkers the world has ever seen.
If you want to think effectively and creatively, head outdoors and get walking my friend.
Listen to a new podcast.
Many of my thoughts, useful or not, come about when I’m listening to various podcasts. Hearing others talk about leadership, management, arts, family and other topics always tends to get the juices flowing and many times I listen while going for a walk. The combination is great and one I would recommend to anyone to boost their creativity.
Here are some podcasts that I find interesting and motivating…and I’m always up for something new so please leave a comment with some of your favorites!
- Learning Leaders
- The Art of Manliness
- Daily Stoic
- Daily Dad
- What’s This Tao All About
- The Combat Jack Show
- How I Built This
Enroll in a FREE online class.
In today’s world, you can learn about pretty much anything with a few clicks and a bit of time. This one’s a no brainer but learning about something new and different is a great way to start thinking differently.
If you operate in the business world, go learn a bit about science. If you operate in healthcare, go learn about history. It’s all out there for you so take a few minutes and see what may excite you and get you thinking differently. Here a few sources to get you going:
edX
It is now possible to learn from many of the largest and most prestigious schools in the world from the comfort of your own home…for free. Regardless of what you’re looking to accomplish, this site has it all. They’ve got everything from computer science to languages, engineering to psychology and everything in between.
Supporting learners at every stage, whether entering the job market, changing fields, seeking a promotion or exploring new interests.
edX
If you’ve got a little time to invest in seeing a course through (or not because it’s free and you can go at your own pace), this site may be a great place to poke around and see what catches your eye. Here’s one that caught mine offered by Harvard University (via HarvardX) that I’ll be checking out soon – The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches Us About the Good Life
TED Talks
What I love about this resource is that you can learn something meaningful and actionable in about 15 minutes. Sure, even 15 minutes to yourself may be tough to come by but throw some of these on in the background when you’re working or handling some mindless tasks around the house. They’re a sure fire way to get you thinking. Here’s one of my favorites:
LinkedIn Learning
We were recently encouraged to set up LinkedIn Learning accounts at work and after poking around there a bit I found a ton of interesting stuff. Many folks out there will already have a LinkedIn account so it should be pretty easy to get up and running with LinkedIn Learning. No two of us are alike in what inspires us so take a look and see what gets you thinking! Here’s a course I found interesting: Using Your Mind to Change Your Brain.
Coursera
This is another site that offers tons of free courses and is worth exploring. Similar to edX, this site collaborates with 200+ leading universities (and companies) to bring some great material to the table.
Exercise.
If you’re reading this, you know how important it is to our family to stay healthy. We also know how hard it is to find time to exercise regularly when you’ve got a family and work hard to take care of them.
It’s up to you to find the time to do it but know that some form of exercise on a regular basis is essential to thinking clearly and effectively. Men’s Health has a great article here with exercise ideas you can incorporate into your workouts. Here are some other types of workouts you may want to consider:
- Running
- Walking
- Swimming
- Lifting weights
- Yoga
- HIIT workouts
- Bar workouts
- Spin
- Martial arts
Watch a Documentary.
Netflix has quickly become my favorite resource for awesome documentaries. Next time you’re ready to binge on something, try something you can learn from. Here’s the trailer for a great one called The Playbook, which my wife and I recently stumbled upon while browsing:
The first episode features Doc Rivers who speaks about how he used the Ubuntu culture to bring together some very strong personalities and lead the Boston Celtics to a championship in 2008. Some other coaches featured in this series include Jill Ellis, Jose Mourinho, Patrick Mouratoglou and Dawn Staley.
Power Through a Braincramp.
Sometimes the best way to think outside the box is to simply keep thinking. In writing a blog, there are many times where I struggle with what to write. I’ll bring up a page, write a few thoughts, come back to it a day later, delete it and start again. After working through a few bouts of writer’s block, one useful thought may come about. I’ll keep at this for a week or two and finally land on something that may be worth reading.
If you’re determined to get something done, it will get done. Just don’t give up and you’ll naturally get to a place where you’re coming up with new ideas.
Do Nothing.
According to the central text of Taoism, the Tao te Ching:
The Way never acts yet nothing is left undone.
Tao te Ching, Chapter 37
This passage introduces the concept of wu wei. Wu wei doesn’t necessarily mean not acting, it means ‘effortless action’ or ‘actionless action’.
It means being at peace while engaged in the most frenetic tasks so that one can carry these out with maximum skill and efficiency. Something of the meaning of wu wei is captured when we talk of being ‘in the zone’ – at one with what we are doing, in a state of profound concentration and flow.
The School of Life
In short, don’t try too hard. “Try hard” when you’re learning, training, practicing and exercising. When you’re ready to perform, simply let the skills and knowledge you’ve acquired come out naturally.
Get Thinking!
These are just some ideas to get you going. The approach is simple – find something in your daily life to remind you of a larger lesson you want to apply in your life on a regular basis. Then, find ways to put that into action once the reminder has your brain thinking on that idea.
- Oh, I got another delivery this morning.
- Ah, that reminds me. Today at work I need to think a bit more creatively when working through that task I was given since what I’ve been trying just isn’t working.
- How can I do that?
- I’m going to take 20 minutes at lunch to go for a walk, breath in some fresh air and give my mind a break from the daily grind.
- Whoa, I just came up with a great idea!
OK, it won’t be that simple, but you get the point 🙂
1 Comment
Comments are closed.