Link to Love: Creativity Sparkers

Do you ever find yourself clicking from blog to blog and wondering how all those people sustain such high levels of creativity?  I know I do; and I especially wonder about those bloggers who work full time, raise families, and write craft blogs all at the same time... what?!? They are endlessly amazing to me.

The key to my creativity is simple: I have a job with a large amount of down time that I like to spend knitting and brainstorming craft ideas.  For me, those breaks in between our shows are like blogging gold.

So how do non-professional show skaters do it?  The Huffington Post sheds some light on the issue in their post (which is today's Link to Love):  5 Unexpected Ways to Spark Your Creative Genius

I thought their point about writing by hand was interesting, and I'd love to get one of those Aqua Notes pads to write in the shower.

I was a little bit scared by what they had to say about watching TV, though.  Here's a snippet.

"Though we all feel inexplicable inspired when watching bachelorette meltdowns, this kind of mindless activity is not one that fosters brilliance.  One study reveals that watching such low-brow (sorry) entertainment actually makes us dumber."  

I'm sorry to say that I'm guilty of watching Dance Moms way more often than I should admit.  I guess that's a habit I might want to think about breaking.

One area where I'm definitely not failing, though, is liberating my mind to wander while doing monotonous activity.  We've performed our ice show 170 times so far this summer.  I can basically do it in my sleep at this point, and I often catch myself thinking through knitting patterns while I'm on the ice.  I really do try to focus on the show, but maybe it's not such a bad thing that my mind wanders from time to time.

What do you think of the Huffington Post article?  Do you already do the things they suggest? Do you have other ideas for sparking creativity?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Happy reading!
xoxo
Laura

Link to Love: Coffee Shop Creativity

It's no secret that I love coffee.  I love drinking it at home in the mornings or on breaks at work, but I especially love drinking it in coffee shops.  I like the atmosphere.

That's why I was so interested in this post on The Real Reason Coffee Shops Boost Productivity by David Burkus.  Check it out.  It's super short and informative.

It turns out that I like the atmosphere for a reason.  Actual scientific studies have proven that the level of background noise in coffee shops boosts creativity.  I always thought that I got more done at coffee shops because I was removing myself from the myriad of procrastination activities that lurk in my home, and I still think that's a big part of it, but I think that this article makes a valid point.

What do you think?  Do you feel more creative in coffee shops too?

Happy reading!
xoxo
Laura

Albert Einstein

I had some fun with my typewriter this morning.  I'm thinking the "a" key needs a little help these days, but I guess that's what you get when your equipment is 40 years old.   ;-)

(You can check out my typewriter here if you're interested.)
xoxo
Laura

Words of Wisdom from Maya Angelou