mancus

theatlantic:

Football is 80 percent mental and 40 percent physical.

-Steve Emtman, former NFL defensive lineman, Little Giants

Like many mid to late 20 somethings, I learned most of my life lessons from two sports films: The Sandlot and Little Giants. I was 9 years old when former overall first pick Steve Emtman hopped off John Madden’s bus to inspire the Little Giants before they took to the field against the Little Cowboys. Even though I knew Emtman never mastered the principle of addition, his sincerity in delivering his signature line left a lasting impression.

At 27 years old, I spend most of my time thinking about how to persuade people to read and engage online content, be it a tweet or a piece of longform journalism. My best ideas are 80% mental and 40% physical. Well, roughly at least. My 9 year old self was much better at arithmetic.

40% Physical

It is not easy to be in a proper physical state. Leaving the office for a leisurely walk outside isn’t enough. When I am struggling to define a problem or am unable to draft a complete answer, I need to wear myself down. For example, I’ll run 5 to 6 miles and then attempt to 3 to 4 sets of push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups. This is how I clear my head. I am usually juggling multiple thoughts at once and the best way to prepare myself mentally is to exhaust myself physically. 

Exercise is relaxing, but it can be debilitating if I forget to stretch. I never took to yoga, but I am a fan of spending 20 minutes tugging at my ankles or pulling an elbow. Time permitting, a hot shower can help, but I rarely have a eureka moment in the shower. Showers are more likely to echo shards of previous ideas. I use this time to take a mental nap since I’m functionally on autopilot.

80% Mental

20% pressure + 30% existing knowledge + 10% connecting the dots + 20% feedback = 80% mental.

Eureka moments do not occur in a vacuum. My trigger is pressure. Deadlines motivate. With the threat of impending failure, I think about what I already know and what currently fascinates me. The more I already know, the better caliber ideas I generate. An array of datapoints — anecdotal or statistical — builds the foundation for an idea. If you don’t know anything about a subject, chances are you won’t think of a great idea. Life isn’t Good Will Hunting where strangers stroll into a classroom and complete complex equations.

Do not silo your brain. I find myself at my most creative when I am connecting disparate things. How should I connect this blog post about reality television with a Congressional Budget Office white paper on home foreclosures? I am envious of designers who draw inspiration from a variety of sources: photography, textile patterns, medieval architecture, 1990s Geocities sites and the like. Inspiration needs room to breathe. I create this space by combining what I am working on with what I like. 

For example, if I was tasked with doubling the number of viewers for this blog post about creativity, I would survey my existing knowledge base about promoting digital content in light of where I currently enjoy spending my time. Right now, I’m fascinated by The Verge (tech website), Buzzfeed Politics, the Q&A network Quora, The Atlantic Wire’s media diets, SBNation’s YouTube channel, Byliner’s longform publications, the comedy podcast network Earwolf, Storifies compiled by The New York Times’ Brian Stelter, Google’s magazine Think Quarterly, the music sharing site ThisIsMyJam and a few others.

Using pen and paper or a whiteboard, I’ll map out what I know with what I like. This process generates workable to occasionally great ideas. Sometimes I’ll use mind maps. Sometimes I’ll write lists. It depends on my mood and the subject matter. It is more important to put forward ideas instead of fretting about the best process to organize thought. Do what comes naturally.

I’ll share these ideas with co-workers, friends, strangers on Twitter and anyone else I think who would be helpful and/or interested. My eureka moment is most likely to occur when I’m defending an idea and someone’s comment reveals that last kernel necessary to complete my thought. Or at least I’ve convinced myself I posses the right question or answer. 

The dirty secret to inspiration is that it great ideas are never complete. Figuring out a solution superior to your previous answer is exhilarating, but it is foolish to think this is the best possible idea imaginable. Pressure is essential to acceptance. It is dangerous to endlessly pursue what we think is genius at the expense of great. I admire the hacker ethic because what society commonly hails as genius is most likely an iteration of a series of good ideas.

The 120% Ethic

Do not take the previous as an excuse to settle for a half baked idea. Deadlines do not justify bad work. The “Emtman equation” is actually kind of beautiful in a cheesy inspirational halftime speech sort of way. Inspiration is tied to effort. Sitting on the couch playing video games will more often than not, fail to produce good ideas, let alone great ideas, on its own. Relaxing is important. Clearing one’s mind is critical. Refusing to put in the effort and expecting genius only works in the movies.

-Noah Chestnut, @noahchestnut 

Share your creativity secrets in the comment section, submit a post on Tumblr, or tweet your thoughts to us with the hashtag#InnovationWeek. We’ll compile your answers into a post later this week. (The longer and smarter you write, the more likely it is that we’ll publish you.)