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Archive for the ‘Creative Thinking + Productivity’ Category

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Feelin’ GRRREAT!

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Tony the Tiger

As you know, I was out in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Lyceum Craft Market all weekend. My allergies have been getting the best of my this spring, so I wasn’t sure how I’d fare in the hot and humid weather that took us by surprise.

I played a little trick on myself. I kept asking myself, “How do I feel?” and responded: “I feel GREAT!”…To be honest, I was feeling a little less than great, but I didn’t really feel bad enough to argue with myself. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders [in my mind-- I didn't literally shrug my shoulders] and went along with it. And I started to believe that I felt great. It worked!

You can call me crazy. Or try it– see if it works for you too. We can be crazy GRRREAT! together.

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Rules that Bind

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Wagging Finger watercolor

I’m not going to question why you do things. I want to know why you don’t. Why you decided you shouldn’t apply to law school or that you won’t sell a couple things on Ebay. I’m curious to know if you might’ve wanted to do something new, and then said to yourself “That’s just not something I do” …and that’s the end of the conversation [with yourself].

It’s possible you’ve got a set of rules of conduct for your own behavior, and they’re not necessarily well-defined or helpful. You might be thinking of doing something you’d find satisfying. Then one of your arbitrary rules squashes that plan like a bug under your shoe. These rules could be “If I don’t picture myself succeeding, I’m not going to try” or “If my friends and family wouldn’t immediately encourage me to do it, it’s not something I really feel like doing”.

Here’s the catch– the rules are dictating the outcome before you’ve taken the time to think through your goal. It plays out like this: “Grad school?”…”No.”  That’s not much of a conversation– it’s 2 lame little sentences.

What am I trying to say to you? Make sure you’re taking the time to have a conversation with yourself before you declare your verdict. Listen. Maybe even talk to someone else (you know, there’s that magic of hearing yourself admit things you didn’t know when you’re talking to another person.) What’d be really great is if you’d meditate or journal regularly and your inner voice wouldn’t need so much coaxing to get out + be heard.

Let’s talk about that soon. Meantime, show a little patience and practice listening to yourself. Who makes the rules around here anyway?

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Tomorrow

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

tomorrow

Tomorrow I’m going to talk about rules. Personal rules. The kind that keep you from doing what you really want to do.

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What’s In Your Back Pocket?

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Your Back Pocket watercolor

Do you know what you’re good at? What’s your talent?

Is it something you use every day? Or do you store your skills in your back pocket, waiting for the right day to pull them out and surprise yourself?

I’m going to take a guess…I think you’ve got some back-pocket skills. An ability (or two or three) that you plan to use in the future, but right now you’re not ready to flex your god-given talents.

Bad idea. Your skills are what makes you unique; what helps you interact with others and navigate the world. For example…you’re good at juggling. You used to like to juggle, but haven’t in years. If you juggled once in a while, you’d be practicing something your muscles know how to do and your mind finds satisfying. It’d give you a little ego boost– what’s not to like in that?

And maybe you try a trick or two. Surprise yourself. Test yourself. You will find [insert skill of yours you're storing in your back pocket] gives you an energy rush that’ll get your mind in gear. Might kick off an idea or two. Wouldn’t be a bad thing. In fact, could be a very good thing, and it’s free to try. Right?

Are you’re thinking “Who does this?”  That’s the right question…the answer is YOU.

Get to it. Let me know what happens ['cause I know already, it's bound to be good!]

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Did I Say That?

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Cat Walking out of Paper Bag

You’re talking to a friend, a coworker, a family member…and you’re telling them an idea you have, a vacation you’re planning, a hobby you’re going to pursue. And you suddenly realize, I had NO IDEA I had this interest until I started talking about it. This is the first time I’ve ever heard about this plan.

What?

Is your mouth supposed to share ideas you didn’t know you were percolating? Is there a way to get in touch with these thoughts before they go public?

If you want to be the first to know what’s going on in your head, you need to establish a dialogue with yourself. Journal. Meditate. Regularly. That way you get to know yourself– find out what’s on your mind.

There’s plenty more to say on this subject. We’ll meet up again soon.

(The illustration is ‘The cat’s out of the bag.’)

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Twitter as Mind Poison

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Innocent-Looking Twitter Bird

I love Martha Stewart. I love that she’s powerful, wealthy, and she’s got a great sense of style. But it doesn’t mean I want to read the Twitter* feed for Martha’s in-house crafters (@craftsdept on twitter)… I know this because I’ve tried following them. Twice.

When I read @craftsdept tweets I think to myself– I’m not their audience. This is too much craft information for me. (Devil’s advocate: what if @craftsdept has something to say that’s pertinent to me? If I unfollow I’ll never know what I’ve missed!) This is why I unfollowed…and then proceeded to follow them again.

Herein lies the mind poison of Twitter.

I’m frittering quality time reading Twitter when I’m not even interested in the content. Because of the guilt. I’m wired to feel guilty about dissolving a relationship, even when I’m just one of thousands of Twitter followers. I should unfollow, dammit.

Are you in the same boat as me? Following people who you have no connection to, but guilt prevents you from taking action? Let’s do this together. Hold my hand, here we go:

Remember the Girl Scout song about making new friends and keeping the old? Some are silver and some are gold? The Twitter friends you read, the ones you engage with and share your trials+tribulations, they’re the gold and silver ones. The ones who you don’t recognize, the ones you roll your mental eyes at, they’re bronze, baby.  It’s time to unfollow.

Unfollowing isn’t rude, it’s sensible. It’s not necessary to pad the ego of others by continuing to follow them when you no longer care a fig about their content.

Spring cleaning my friends. It begins with Twitter. Clear your mind, clear your conscience, let ‘em go.

*What is Twitter? It’s simple, and way easier and more interesting than Facebook. Just make account here and follow some people. Start by following me, @linda_astersage and add some of the people I follow. Then read the tweets for a little bit. Send out some tweets of your own. And send one to me (put my @linda_astersage in the tweet and I’ll see it, let me know how awesome Twitter is!) Nothin’ to it. Just one thing– you have to put a photo on your account or you’ll look like  a spammer. And people will shun you.

PS If this sounds like a lot of trouble and effort, it’s only because I have a flair for the melodramas. Don’t be fooled by my wordiness; I’m making a mountain out of a molehill.

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Inner Voice as Backseat Driver

Monday, April 5th, 2010

A House

Sometimes I feel self conscious when I think about my house. It’s a cape cod. It’s small. I was driving around yesterday evening and I realized that I’ve got it all wrong. You know how you can see inside peoples’ houses when it’s dark outside and their lights are on? Even if you’re not intent on looking, sometimes the rooms are so bright you can’t help but see inside.

I caught an eyeful of red paint and wood moldings in a bedroom, and it struck me that I hated that house. It didn’t matter that it’s a lot bigger than mine, and probably costs more too. I never want to live there. As long as I like my house, what difference does it make how big it is? Doesn’t matter at all.

I’ll tell you why I brought this up–sometimes I feel like I’m not doing the right thing. Could be business related, or personal… something I’m thinking is wrong but I can’t put my finger on it. And then I ask myself, who’s judging me? Turns out there’s a snippy, mocking voice in my head telling me I’m doing the wrong thing. Yes. I’m listening to a person -who doesn’t even exist- giving me grief.

Maybe this is a public admission that part of me is crazy, but I think this is something we all do. Decide what we’re doing is wrong just because we imagine someone else would think so.

Next time you hear yourself “Tsk, tsk” at a notion you have, ask who’s doing the talking. If it turns out it’s that inner voice with the disparaging tone and nary a fact to back up all the judgmental noisemaking, tell the voice to shove it.

Anyway, it’s tacky to admit you’re hearing voices.

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Thank You

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

Thank You

I’m working with a large company to do a custom order for several thousand pieces.

Each time I’ve sent samples to the company I’ve also sent them an email letting them know what’s coming in the mail.

In return, I’ve received a prompt reply: “Thanks.” or “Thank you. I will watch for them.”

What is your reaction to correspondence– do you read your email right away? Do you respond to your emails right away?

On a scale of 1-10 I’d give myself a 6 or a 7. I thought I was doing a pretty good job. Maybe I was. But my recent correspondence with this company has opened my eyes to a new level of interaction.

Receiving a prompt “Thank you” from my customer makes me think he’s eager to receive the package and review what I’ve sent. I’m particularly keen to make sure his needs are met– I know the project I’m doing for them is a tiny fraction of what he’s working on, and yet! he still respond to me promptly.

I’ll compare this to my average interaction– when I receive an email I usually read it right away. I respond when it’s convenient. Nothing’s wrong with that scenario. I think it’s perfectly fine. Average. But I could show I’m engaged with my recipient and I respect their time and energy– just by responding quickly.

A simple phrase like a “Thank you”, promptly delivered, can speak volumes all by itself.

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Try It: Play With Squares

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Nice: looking at a pretty picture.
Nicer: your own picture [no guarantees about it being pretty].
This exercise will have you forming relationships with totally inanimate objects, you just wait and see…

Tear two colorful pages from a catalog or magazine. More colors are better.

random catalog

Use a paper cutter or a pair of scissors to cut the paper into strips, then 1″-ish squares. The size isn’t all that important.

Start arranging all the pieces on top of a sheet of white copy paper.

organizing squares

As long as you’re not recreating the pages as they looked before you cut them up [you sneak!] any arrangement is fine. Just try to organize them in a way that’s pleasing to you.

organized squares

Once you’ve got all those squares laid out on the paper, move it aside [don't mess up the squares, leave them as they are] and get a new sheet of copy paper. You’re going to fill this paper with squares but none will overlap [see photo below]–  this version will be an iteration [another version] of the first sheet of squares.
This means you’ll have to choose individual squares from the first sheet and glue them down in a neat, linear grid. Look at the first sheet, choose a square that most looks like the area you pulled it from, and glue it down. Repeat.

organizing squares

Here’s what you’ll find– you start to form a relationship with the squares you pull off the first sheet of paper and attach to the new sheet. Is this the right square? How does it look with the one I just glued down?

I highly doubt that your finished project will look glamorous, or make sense to any unwitting bystanders, but this was an exercise in process.

squares are all arranged

It’s one thing to see something and get a great feeling, but the idea here is to actively engage in the process of making something. Because we knew from the outset that the final project is unlikely to be a thing of beauty, it’s a heck of a lot easier to let go of preconceived notions and enjoy the process.
I hope this gave your mind a little 7th inning stretch.

[Postscript: When I was posting this I noticed I must have used the reverse side of the 2nd catalog page-- I don't see those pillow colors anywhere]

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Try It: Look for Color

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I’ve got a little exercise I do when everything around me’s looking kinda bland. In fact, the blander the better.

A wintry landscape is perfect but you can try this anywhere, indoors or out.

It’s pretty simple. I start by looking for anything that’s red. Once I’ve seen all the red there is to see, I work my way through the rest: orange yellow green blue purple.

Here’s what happens.

I’ll think to myself ‘there’s nothing here that could be red’ and I start to look… and almost inevitably I will see something red. Though maybe it’s more orange… and it begins a conversation in my head about whether it is red…or orange.

After I’ve found all the red stuff I move on to the next color.

It’s not so much an exercise about color. It’s really a way to see how much I didn’t see before I started looking.

So try it right now: look around you and find everything that’s red. Make sure to determine if what looks red is really red to you, not any other color (If you don’t, making your way through all the colors gets lame really fast) and then move on to orange.

See anything new?

P.S. I included this photo in case you’re really at a loss for something to look at [click on it to make it bigger]. But the real world is a far better place to try this out.

nyc vendor cart

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