Waking Up

The alarm goes off. You hit the snooze button. Once. Twice. Maybe even three times before you actually get out of bed. Now you have exactly 27 minutes to shower, get dressed, do your hair and makeup, grab your coffee (if you remembered to set the timer on the brewer last night), and get to work. During the commute, you read the paper or listen to the news or stare blankly, completely oblivious of everything around you. And you do the same thing every day.

This routine will vary from one person to the next, but I suspect we can all relate.

Apparently, however, a rushed morning schedule is the best way to kill any creativity that might be lurking in the recesses of your mind. That hurried wake-up is deadly for the imaginative insights are most likely to come to us when we’re groggy and unfocused. Who knew?

So what would our mornings look like if we made some changes in the interest of generating some creative thinking? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead? (I always keep a pen and paper on my nightstand.) We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, allowing a few more minutes of mental relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths during our commute instead of succumbing to road rage. And once in the office — after we get that cup of coffee — we’d direct our computer browser not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the Web has to offer. (Click here for an example.) Great way to start your day!

The sum of all of this is simple. Slow down. Relax. Take time to think.

Don’t kill the creativity.