Creative Thinking

Creating Thinking Exercise

1. Cognitive flexibility: Ability to switch between thinking mode/consider multiple perspective
2. Associative thinking: Ability to connect seemingly unrelated topics
3. Divergent thinking: Ability to generate multiple solutions to the same problem
4. Constraint breaking: Ability to identify and overcome hidden assumptions

Exercise 1: Perspective Shifting (Cognitive Flexibility)

1. Chose an object in the environment
2. For two minutes, rapidly adopt different perspectives on the object (how would an engineer look at it, a doctor? A child? Someone from middle age, what about an ant or a giant)

Shift rapidly.

Exercise 2: Random Word Fusion (Associative Thinking)

1. Pick 3 random words (from a book, a page, or generator)
2. For 2 minutes, create coherent content that use all three words (product, plot for a story, service, solution to a problem)

Exercise 3: Alternative Uses (Divergent Thinking)

1. Choose an object
2. For two minutes list as many possible uses for this object as you can (aiming for quantity over quality)

Exercise 4: Assumption Reversal (Constraint Breaking)

1. Chose any common service/product/process (a restaurant, a phone, food delivery...)
2. For 2 minutes, list all the assumptions and rules that typically apply to it (for restaurant you must pay for food etc)
3. for each assumption, ask yourself what if the opposite was true or how could we eliminate that requirement completely