Ask HN: What do you do to boost your creativity and/or productivity? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What do you do to boost your creativity and/or productivity?

27 pointschaosprophet42 comments

Hi all, Recently I find that whenever I sit down to work, the ideas don't flow as freely as they used to. Whereas once I would be able to think of 3-4 solutions within a short span of time, now I can barely come up with one.

Also, by habit, it takes me a certain amount of time to get into my 'zone' before starting work. However, recently I have been taking more and more time to settle into this 'zone'.

So I would like to know what specific hacks you guys use to keep the creative juices flowing, and also how you manage to get more productive.

Regards, chaosprophet

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1. Silence. I'm not smart enough to get anything done with a lot of noise or music going on.

2. Distracting my mind. I read long, complex fiction novels for 30-60 minutes at night before bed. This is the most valuable part of my day because it acts like a shutdown script for my mind. Afterwards I feel completely disconnected from what I'm working on, worrying about, or struggling with. Some novels that I've used in the past: War & Peace, Ulysses, As I Lay Dying, Moby Dick.

3. Frequent breaks. While working I make sure to pause regularly and often stop altogether, walk-around, etc. This helps and hurts because it can interrupt flow, but the big benefit is that I find myself less tired at the end of the day when I stick to this.

4. Pen & paper. I buy spiral-bound notebooks at Walgreens for $0.35 and fill one every 3-6 months or so. I use pen and paper to plan programming projects, do class designs, brainstorm ideas, draw diagrams, almost everything.

5. Org-mode. I also use org-mode to more formally track things. I consider my notebook an "informal" workspace, while my org-mode files are more "formal". I utilize the agenda feature to produce to-do lists and calendar.

6. Diversity of projects. I try to always have some toy or pet project to play with when I find myself lacking motivation or hitting dead-ends on my primary work.

7. Try to keep it to 8 hours per day. This often seems (or "is" depending on your management) impossible, but it really does make an enormous difference in your ability to stay consistently productive and creative.

we differ only at #1, but i think this is a great list. if i may,

8. group tasks into small units and imagine the end result before touching a keyboard.

nothing revelatory, but i find it brings a bit of balance.

>a lot of noise or music going on.

Yay, someone else who gets destroyed by music. I thought I was the only one. I was told by a boss once upon a time to "put on earphones", but he didn't like the protective earwear I brought in (they were from home depot for using loud machines) and was unsympathetic to the fact music really makes me not do well at coding.

>This is the most valuable part of my day because it acts like a shutdown script for my mind.

You know what, I did not realize how the reading could actually be helping there. I like long series of works that are interconnected because they're typically much longer than even classics. The 1632 series is excellent and long, for that reason.

>Try to keep it to 8 hours per day.

Do you mean at least 8? At most 8? Exactly 8?

I would say at most 8. I don't necessarily believe in working less than 8 hours per day has a particular benefit, but I don't really have evidence, even anecdotally, for that belief. 10 or 12 hour days are OK as one-offs, once-in-a-blue-moon (I mean that literally). But doing that for many days in a row has major negative impacts on my productivity and my general mood.

With regards to point 2: I read something in a foreign language instead of just complex fiction. It forces me to slow down and it helps me keep up with my foreign languages. Usually this meant English (I'm Dutch), but since I read a lot of English during the day already, I started with reading German at night. I

The single most important thing I do to "boost creativity and/or productivity" is to work in such a way that I don't need to "boost creativity and/or productivity" to get my work done. This has to be done the night before.

I always quit all online work at least 2 hours before bedtime and print whatever I'm working on.

Then I go into any other room with program listings, blank paper, and pens (especially red!) and plan out all of tomorrow's work.

All analysis, design, and refactoring must be done at this time. I do not allow myself to sleep until the next day's work is laid out. I also do not allow myself to get back onto the computer. The idea is to have a clear "vision" of what I am going to accomplish the next day. The clearer the better.

This does 2 things. First, I think about it all night (maybe even dream about it). Second, I can't wait to get started the next day.

I always wake up and start programming immediately. Once I get going, it's easy to keep going. Any difficulties are probably because I didn't plan well enough the night before.

With proper planning, "getting into the zone" becomes a much smaller problem.

Okay, I'll start planning my work ahead. I've never planned my programming ahead of time, and in fact I have never planned anything other than travel ahead of time, so maybe this is something I should make a habit. Thanks.

This will sound weird, but I harness hatred.

Find a person or organization that you absolutely despise. Preferably a person that you know personally--someone who makes your blood boil just from thinking about them.

Then, do the following:

1) Every night, put together a task list for the next day and do whatever preparation you can. I have a template of standard tasks, the last two of which are always "finish tomorrow's list" and "prep for tomorrow". Preparation means locating resources, laying out clothes if you will be travelling, etc.

2) Every day, work through your task list. As you finish each task, mark it off.

3) At the end of each day, for every task that you did NOT complete, put $1 in a jar. At the end of the month, take all of that money, put it in an envelope, and mail it to the person you hate. (I generally send it anonymously.)

It's amazing how powerful this technique is. It also helps a great deal at teaching you to estimate how long a given task will take, and teaches you to break large tasks into small ones.

What if you don't hate anyone?

Edit: Oh wait, I hate the Fox News staff, I forgot. Never mind..

Whenever I start forking around too much, spending too much time reading HN and the like, I go and read job ads. Once I've read a few of those, and remember what it's like to work in a corporate environment, I'm sufficiently motivated to get back to work on my own stuff.

No joke!

That is an awesome idea. I'm going to start doing that.

I clean.

First, I clean my room, so my atmosphere feels less cluttered and my mind is less likely to wander of to thinking "I should get around to this."

Then, I'll clean my desk, which usually means throwing everything away that is not 100% absolutely necessary (old notes, ideas, drawings, cups, etc.) These all make you feel crowded mentally and literally. A clean desk lets you focus on the screen without any distractions.

Finally, the desktop. I make a point to zero out my icons when I do this, only leaving My Computer and the Recycle Bin on the desktop, with a wallpaper that reminds me of what my current goal is.

This usually has me inspired to take advantage of the completely fresh atmosphere I've created and tends to be when I create my simplest and most effective work. It also works wonders for coming up with ideas, both creatively and on the business end. Basically, cleanliness helps me solve problems more easily.

  Even if it keeps you up all night,
  wash down the walls and scrub the floor
  of your study before composing a syllable.
  Clean the place as if the Pope were on his way.
  Spotlessness is the niece of inspiration.
  The more you clean, the more brilliant
  your writing will be, so do not hesitate to take
  to the open fields to scour the undersides
  of rocks or swab in the dark forest
  upper branches, nests full of eggs.
  When you find your way back home
  and stow the sponges and brushes under the sink,
  you will behold in the light of dawn
  the immaculate altar of your desk,
  a clean surface in the middle of a clean world.
  From a small vase, sparkling blue, lift
  a yellow pencil, the sharpest of the bouquet,
  and cover pages with tiny sentences
  like long rows of devoted ants
  that followed you in from the woods

  Billy Collins, Advice to Writers

I agree with the comment about going for a long run. I always seem to be in a better state of mind after a few miles. If I'm still having issues maintaining focus, then I try to make a list of everything I'd like to accomplish today. By setting smaller goals I get a deeper sense of satisfaction with my work. On a historical note, this is the same notion that is applied in war. Instead of setting your object as "winning a war", the object becomes "take the next hill" or "win the next street".

What motives me is what Dan Pink calls "purpose" or wanting to make a difference in the world.

I spent 9 years building software to make the lives of telephone support workers better (by helping them create and re-use solutions to common problems).

I've spent the last 8 years building software to make the lives of network engineers better (by helping them automate repetitive tasks on thousands of network devices).

Thinking about making a difference for the user of the software I'm writing keeps me going.

Whenever I have issues getting something done next, I say: "What activity, if I do it right now, will bring me closest to the next payment" I then do that.

(Disclaimer: If you do not run a custom prodcut development company, this question may involve some heavy reworking to get you something useful).

If I'm having issues generating different ways of doing something, I've done Mind Maps sometimes, cleaning things (I don't know why this stimulates my creative mind, perhaps because I hate cleaning things), buy and read/skim books on the topic..

As far as zone goes, I suggest a ritual if you're having problems getting the "cares of the world" out of your mind.

Drink here, notepad here, and emptied, listen to a short song, then go. Or do three jumping jacks, shut your eyes, breath deeply, sit down and fullscreen your ide, etc. Just something to start off coding in a way to signal to yourself "I will be doing this now".

Or a couple day retreat to solve what problems that are plaguing your life and constantly harrying you if you're actually thinking about your problems instead of zoning. While you may disagree, you brain likely things certain things very important and will bug you to holy hell if you don't deal with them completely.

Oh, I also call customers when I am needing more inspiration and ask them more questions about their product. Works as a double whammy, I get more in depth knowledge of their field, and they get what is basically a more in depth status message.

(I generally do not work with customers who cannot take hearing real status updates, ones who need lies and smoke I elect not to work with whenever possible, so I'm not sure this applies to everyone).

When working on things not for a customer, I talk to people who would be its perspective user base. For instance, board game selection app, talk to boardgamegeek.com users. Configuration file generator module for iphone apps, I talk to people in the local iPhone developer's meetup, etc.

Do not underrated human contact.

The two things that make the most difference to me are haivng a "Personal Productivity Scaffold" and excercise. (See (http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/07/how-to-create-a-per...). The scaffold is nothing overly complicated, it is essentially a standard way of planning my day and starting work in the mornings and after lunch.Working out is something I hated to do for a long time until I started lifting weights, now I find that an exhausting workout 3-4 times a work really helps the quality of my sleep, which really helps my mental altertness the following day. The almost meditative "Zen" time while working out has become a key problem solving and decision making time for me. And the fact that it reduces stress and improves stamina over time is a great bonus. On rare occasions now when feeling trapped by inertia or indecsion I will leave during the middle of the day, and work out. I almost always have a clear picture of the path to resolution or the creative solution by the time I am done.

I have talked with a neurologist's office at length about brainwaves and the behavior associated with them. We all exhibit these wavelengths, but in different ratios depending on individual makeup/what we are doing.

Typically Alpha wave activity (8-12 mhz) is associated with creativity and calm alertness. According to the neurologist, certain relaxing activities can boost Alpha waves such as taking a walk or taking a hot shower.

The next bracket up is beta waves. the higher range of Beta is the stressful "fight or flight mode". If you are on your third cup of coffee and frantically trying to get something finished before an impending deadline, odds are that if somebody did a EEG on your brain you would see high levels of beta activity. Trouble is, this is where a lot of people live these days and we function in this mode as the norm, which becomes counter productive to creative thought.

My advice is to make sure you give yourself time to downshift into the calmer, more creative state as much as possible. Take a walk, take a shower. Practice slower, deeper breathing.

For me, Following things work..

1. Keep a notepad and a pen handy. Whatever occurs to me, I write it down. And then I type it out on a personal wiki. Right now the wiki is organized by days. Eventually it would be organized by topics.

2. Use tools like bookmarking etc to be able to retrieve things fast.

3. Action things NOW. I dont keep them pending. Even if they are tough ones, I do them.

And apart from these productivity things, for creativity, I do following ...

1. Multidisciplinay approach tot things. Have one major hobby apart from work. Keep changing it every few days. Like now a days am playing poker. Before this I learnt juggling. Before that was Rubik's cube. I dont know when I have to move on but I do keep on changing these challenges.

2. At max have 4 tabs on your browser at any given time. Helps you focus ;P

3. Jason Bourse says, sleep is a weapon. I agree. Use it. Make sure you get enough sleep. I sleep about 7 hours a day.

4. Meet people. Travel. Attend things that are completely different from your domain. I for example goto theatre, college campuses, long car rides etc.

These are more but guess these depend from person to person. Hope the ones I put in help.

Thanks, SG

For years i've been reading up on improving productivity but nothing worked untill i started on the Pomodoro Technique, with a s/w timer. I don't follow it religiously but enough to get work done.

Some Tips: Once that clock is set honor it for that 25 minutes. Try to start the timer as many times you can in a day. If you feel the need for longer breaks between than is recommended, take them or set a timer for your breaks as well.

The good thing about is the technique is that it understands that there are always interruptions and tells you a way to mentally make a note and move on.

For a timer you can use tomato timer(or a physical one if possible) and a piece of paper. Note down your tasks for a day/session on a piece of paper and treat it like your 'bible'!. Close all your fancy GTD apps for that period, you can use them during the breaks.

The timer gives you a sense of urgency and a fake deadline. I've noticed that sometimes i feel the need to work, but don't start the timer. Don't do that. Alyways work with a timer, make it a habit.

I too have found the Pomodoro Technique fantastic, especially when combined with a GTD-like list of tasks for the day, broken down as atomically as they can be.

It's really helped me get through some of the most mundane work I've had to do on almost no real deadline (which is completely toxic to productivity), where I was the least inspired to work.

As a bonus, it helps make the workday pass very quickly, as you tend to focus on the current Pomodoro, instead of think about all the hours ahead of you.

If I get into that sort of zero-to-negative flow state, I travel, go to a conference, do something to actually transplant myself away and rekindle ideas. On a more local level you can just change scenery. Go to starbucks. Whatever.

I know what you mean about the 'zone' issue. I found that happening when I worked from home a lot. I still do find it happening if I stay at home. It depends a lot on what you define as work, and what you're doing to fill the time before you settle in. Things like the pomodoro technique or other "look, I'll just do it for 5 minutes, then I can get back to reading HN" carrot/stick approaches to oneself can help -- if, like me, once you actually start doing something, you're fine.

Changing your diet and exercise routines to revitalise your energy levels can also help. I started running a few weeks ago and it's really helping me find time where I don't do anything but run. Turn my brain off, almost. When I'm done, ideas come flooding in.

Do more than one thing (not at the same time) in a day. preferably tasks that are quite a bit different from each other.

For instance, I work from home on my computer. This makes me sit in front of the computer for a long period of time even when I am not working (for non work related computer time). So I try to put tasks in my todo list (the night before) that requires me to get out of my comfort zone. Which included exercise, preferably eat at least one meal a day outside (most of the time), compulsory book reading (I read at least one book a week), cook when I am not eating out and frequent breaks from my work.

For me, frequent breaks are the single biggest boost of fresh ideas. I always get my best ideas on my breaks.

My never-fail recourse: sitting down in an uncomfortable chair for a few hours at a local smoothie shop with lousy background music and telling my self I can't leave until something good comes out of me.

Music for me. If i'm feeling distracted or can't quite get my thoughts clear, I blast hardcore punk or drum & bass and once my blood gets pumping the productivity begins. Sometimes it doesn't work so well and i'll try something on the opposite spectrum - bob dylan's first album, slow classical piano/strings, etc.

Also, and this may sound weird: a trip to the restroom. Sitting on the can for 5 or 10 minutes helps me think about the one problem without distraction. Usually I can formulate an outline there and come back and start typing.

Try spending the first half of your work day in a different place thinking while keeping web surfing to a minimum and doing no programming at all.

Keep a notebook with out at all times to jot down those random, incomplete ideas you have over the course of a day. Then when you sit down to work you can just go through your list and throw away the mostly bad ones, but hopefully you'll have a good one in there worth expanding on. Either way at least it gives you a starting point to actually start working.

The best hack I know for this, is solitude. The more time you spend alone the more the unconscious wants to express itself (you can find many creative ideas this way).

Solitude also gives you no option but to do the thing you are secluding yourself to do. Block distracting websites if your task is computer based.

Hmm, maybe I am approaching this incorrectly, but I'll go out, drink it up with friends, and not think about work, or my side project. I'll come back to it a day or 2 later, after not looking my problem for a bit. Sometimes that break lets me see things another way, albeit a little hungover ;).

Create crap. Write drivel, draw shitty pictures, code a half-assed one-off script.

Biggest obstacle I often have is getting started, that whole "fear of the blank page" thing. But once I get into something I find I can keep rolling, and editing and revising starts to bring out the better stuff.

Go for a long morning run (creativity) and then take half a modafinil (productivity).

Tell me more about the modafinal.

Yes I have taken to a long run at about 4 in the morning for the past couple of days, and it does seem to help. I'll stick to this till it becomes a habit.

I make sure I get enough sleep often enough. Also, I lift weights and go off of caffeine (for some reason, when I get back in the caffeine addiction, I have far less energy during the day and just get cranky and unproductive).

Long walks (to gather my thoughts), greenery (creativity) and tea (productivity).

That is a marvelously concise yet descriptive sentence.

I would add some socialization, to get me out of my own head and affirm my membership in the human race. Perspective, I guess I would call that.

I make sure my work motivates me without any extra effort.

I play music everyday. For me, it's acoustic guitar.

I guess that would be writing some prose for me. It's been a really long time since I actually wrote anything worthwhile, but the problem with this is writing requires some amount of creativity and I seem to be stuck, so whatever I write doesn't really feel right, when I read it later. Regardless I think I'll try setting aside some time especially for this. Thanks.

The best writing advice I've ever heard can be summed up more or less by the following:

Just do it. Don't worry about creating that perfect sentence or finding that word that perfectly expresses what you're feeling or setting up the perfect introduction. Just start putting the words to paper, even if it's complete gibberish. Don't labor under enormous expectations, don't worry about the end result, don't think about whether it sucks or not, just keep letting one word flow after the other. You can go back and correct the hell out of it later, purge everything except that one perfect paragraph, but before you get there you need to write and write and write. Preferably every day. They say every writer has 1 million bad words in them, and you have to get them all out before you can write anything worthwhile. So just write write write, and worry about the other stuff later.

I go outside

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