High Focus + Deliberate Daydream = Consistent Creativity (outdoor video demo)
You know you need sustained focus to execute big projects. And you’ve likely heard that distractions and daydreams, in good measure, can boon creative insights. A good dose of mind-wanderfulness aids mindfulness, and there are best rest practices for optimal productivity. But how do you mix the two? How do you sustain high focus & also let yourself get distracted? Sounds contradictory.
The key ingredient in this mix is meta-awareness – being aware of awareness – or Mirror Mind. First, your built-in sensor signals you when your attention wanes so you know when it’s time to diverge (“Okay! I’m getting exhausted! Okay, I can’t think anymore!”) . And then while distracted your built-in detector lets you capture the goldfish that float past the margins of your mind’s aquarium (“Hey! Cool! What was that?”).
In this short video (3:12), I offer you something that spontaneously arose while on one of my regular deliberate diversions outdoors. And then I explain my process, a process honed after reflecting upon my own and others’ experiences for the past few years and then corroborating it with the latest in the science of creativity.
Enjoy. Then, try it out for yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjRgDGktMOs
DROP BY
Let me know what you think and how you finesse the mix between focus & daydream.
Thanks for running with me,
Jeffrey
P.S. It’s these moments, by the way, that assure the wandering artist thrives in partnership with the focused entrepreneur. If you want questions and take-aways for your own artist-entrepreneur partnership, check out the State of Wonder Dispatch (page will take you to download option). -jbd