The Disney Way
A long time ago Walt Disney wrote about working in different places to do different tasks and jobs. Flow is the ultimate sweet spot for writers and creators everywhere, but it can be elusive and difficult to find. it's actually about feeling energised and focused on the task. It might be about being in your favourite place, the weather outside being sunny, listening to your favourite playlist or having your favourite coffee. When you do manage to get into the zone, it's worth noting what environmental factors helped.
Apart from the theme parts and the films, Disney was a creative thinker ahead of his time. The
Disney Strategy Template give a great analytic framework [1].
Some other useful resources are at: https://www.designorate.com/disneys-creative-strategy/
This site give an overview of contemporary tools that pick up on the themes.
"In order to prepare the team for Disney’s Creative Strategy; four parts of the room are set for each thinking method. The first part is for dreaming and imagination, the second part is for realists and/or planning, the third part is for critics and the fourth part is for getting the mind outside the thinking flow.
The idea of setting a thinking place for each stage in the method is to prepare the team mind to switch thinking modes from one to another. The place can be a room, open space office or an outdoor garden.
The team gathers with a target to achieve, this target can be a dream to turn into reality, design to visualise, problem to solve or process to improve. However, the history of the Disney’s method qualifies it to fit with creative brainstorming to help turn dreams into applicable projects." [2]
The Un-conference Approach
Another useful concept is that of the "Unconference" there's a great blog to explain it all at: https://20bedfordway.com/news/how-to-run-an-unconference/
"Finding popularity in the Tech sector in the mid-nineties, Unconferences represented a move away from formal conferences with attendees given the freedom to create the event they wanted. There is no pre-planned agenda – instead participants convene sessions on whatever topic they like on the morning of the Unconference, claiming a time slot and location.
"Unconferences make for great events for a number of reasons. Ultimately, they allow attendees to cover a wider range of less common topics and probe difficult, unusual and rapidly changing areas of interest. Unconferences are particularly suited for industries where change is rapid and those where creative thinking is essential. If you work within a sector that is struggling with event attendance and engagement with your events then Unconferences can really shake things up and get people interested again. With larger more traditional conferences, there is pressure to focus on more general and crowd-pulling topics whereas Unconferences allow attendees to go niche and explore what interests them.
Unconferences are also good for the following:
- Peer-to-peer learning
- Collaboration
- Creativity
- Increased engagement as attendees provide the themes
Make them aware of the following points to help them prepare:
- It’s best that each session topic has an angle – one that encourages debate and discussion. Make this clear and also share some tips on running a session prior to the event.
- Reassure session hosts to not take it personally if no-one attends their session
- It’s important that session hosts stick to the timetable and don’t let their sessions over run – remind them to be aware of those waiting for the next session
- The timetable is likely to change during the day so remind people to keep checking back" [8]
I've used this approach when training Scout Leaders and professionals.
Carl Jungs Creative Process
Even famous writers and professionals like Carl Jung have had to find ways to focus.[4]
"While drawing inspiration from Jung, an obvious question becomes, how do I connect with this kind of depth in the midst of my own too-hectic life? The good news is, we don’t need a tower to live in for months at a time. The bad news is we need to unplug every day and tune into activities that nourish the soul; this is often hard arrange. It takes focus, intention, and experimentation to find those things that centre us and we are drawn to. Any number possibilities come to mind:
- “Spend an hour a day in a quiet room by yourself reading old stories that you find nourishing.” That’s what Joseph Campbell said when Bill Moyers asked this question during the “Power of Myth” interviews.
- Meditation, of almost any kind. This my own core practice. Zen teacher, Cheri Huber said, “If you start by watching your breath for as little as five minutes a day, it can change your life.”
- Sports that allow one to get in “the zone,” especially walking, running, or bicycling.
- Keeping a dream notebook.
- Writing, though I suspect most bloggers will have the same difficulty I have in putting words at the service of psyche – how do I turn off the writing sophistication I’ve worked so hard to gain? Can I ever truly use words in a “purposeless” manner, allowing them to go where the wish, without thinking, “Gee, this would make a good blog post?” For any chance of success, I need a definite strategy, like writing fast with a roller ball pen in cheap notebooks.
- Visual arts or crafts. Training or skill is not required for this kind of work, and in fact, can get in the way. Those with artistic training may find it useful to paint or draw with the non-dominant hand. Jung had no formal art training, but his private journal, The Red Book, only recently published, gives an idea of what may emerge if one is determined to honour the psyche."
