creativity — The Ideasicle "X Factor" Blog — Ideasicle X

Welcome to The X Factor Blog. Here you’ll find relevant use cases for Ideasicle X. Articles on the art of generating ideas while working remotely. Insights and studies into creativity itself. All from the desk of our founder and CEO, Will Burns.

Posts tagged creativity

Three Common Phrases That Are Crushing Human Creativity

Three Common Phrases That Are Crushing Human Creativity

Language is powerful. It’s the fabric of our thoughts. It’s how we transfer thoughts from one person to another. It’s used to generate movements, inspire emotion, record history, establish and reinforce culture. Yet, some language can also entrap us, even enslave us if we let it. Particularly when a phrase is repeated so often it becomes common knowledge and is no longer questioned. Below are three such phrases we hear so frequently that through repetition have become “conventional wisdom,” but I believe, sadly, also crush our motivation to remain curious.

CreativityWill BurnsMarch 27, 2024science is settled, just your imagination, placebo effect, creativity

From Vacuuming To Ice Plunges: How These 13 Creative Experts Get Into The Mood

From Vacuuming To Ice Plunges: How These 13 Creative Experts Get Into The Mood

As you may know, I enjoy studying creativity. The importance of it, the psychology of it, the ways to improve it. I have a whole page on this company’s site devoted to scientific studies around improving our creativity (view that here). So as part of this study I wanted to ask real people whose creativity is their professional product. What their hints, secrets, and rituals were when it comes to creativity. And who better to ask than my own Ideasicle Experts? The question I posed to them: “How do you create?” We got some surprising, funny, and insightful answers.

Creativity, Expert ProfilesWill BurnsMarch 6, 2024creativity, tips, secrets, rituals

Is Urgency Good Or Bad For Creativity? Yes, According To 3 Different Studies.

Is Urgency Good Or Bad For Creativity? Yes, According To 3 Different Studies.

The pressure to perform creatively under time constraints creates a sense of urgency and stress, which, according to three separate studies, impacts creative thinking. But it’s not all bad, and the findings suggest an optimum approach to idea generation when the pressure’s on.

CreativityWill BurnsFebruary 20, 2024creativity, time, urgency, studies

Best Practices For Creative Teams Working Remotely 2024

Best Practices For Creative Teams Working Remotely 2024

Coming up with ideas remotely is unavoidable these days with hybrid work becoming more and more the norm. But that doesn’t mean the quality of your, and your partners’, ideas must suffer. 2024 can be the year to embrace remote idea generation. Here are three best practices (and worst) we’ve learned first-hand about participating in remote creative sessions that you can start using today.

Creativity, Tips & TricksWill BurnsJanuary 2, 2024remote work, creativity, 2024, virtual, ideas

No One Can Guarantee A Great Idea, But We Can Increase The Odds

No One Can Guarantee A Great Idea, But We Can Increase The Odds

If you ask the great Rick Rubin, he’d likely say ideas exist already outside of space/time and when their time has come enter our three-dimensional universe through…someone, anyone whose vibration matches that of the idea. Deep stuff, for sure. It seems to me that, since we can’t force an idea to happen, all we can do is increase the odds of one happening. So I looked at Ideasicle X anew to see if and how, exactly, it increases the odds of great ideas. Here are three ways I came up with.

CreativityWill BurnsDecember 4, 2023rick rubin, creativity, odds, creative ideas

Rick Rubin: "Create An Environment Where You're Free To Express What You Were Afraid To Express."

Rick Rubin: "Create An Environment Where You're Free To Express What You Were Afraid To Express."

One of the things the great Rick Rubin talks about in his new book relates to fear and how important it is to, as he puts it, “Create an environment where you’re free to express what you were afraid to express.” This statement challenged me to think about how Ideasicle X mitigates creative fear. Here are three tangible ways the IX model minimizes fear among the team of four.

CreativityWill BurnsNovember 30, 2023rick rubin, creativity, fear, online disinhibition

The Magic Question Creative Agencies Should Ask Their Clients Before Every Creative Assignment

The Magic Question Creative Agencies Should Ask Their Clients Before Every Creative Assignment

We have always believed the client should be excited about the advertising ideas we bring them. Why not? It’s their company. Not to mention it’s nearly impossible to sell in an idea the client simply doesn’t like. But we have discovered, quite by accident, a question—a magic question—the answer to which not only may shed light on a client’s creative biases, but provides you and your creative teams a map of landmines.

CreativityWill BurnsNovember 13, 2023creativity, ideas, rookie mistake

Killer App: Ideas From Talent Who Are All Over The Place

Killer App: Ideas From Talent Who Are All Over The Place

I feel sorry for ad agencies these days. Fees aren’t increasing, staff is getting harder to find, and the staff they have is stretched. Worse, agencies are still battling with the inertia of remote work, leaving their talent all over the place. While we can’t solve all the problems agencies face today, we can help address the challenges of remote work when it comes to creative ideas.

Use CasesWill BurnsNovember 8, 2023remote work, ideas, creativity

Collaborating Virtually Gets Us Closer To Pure Consciousness Intermingling

Collaborating Virtually Gets Us Closer To Pure Consciousness Intermingling

Erwin Schrödinger said, “Consciousness is the fundamental reality.” So doesn’t it stand to reason that if we, to the degree we can, remove the UNfundamental reality (our physical reality) from the idea generating arena, then each participant’s individual consciousness is better able to shine through? And, better yet, the consciousness of multiple individuals on a team intermingle more purely? That’s exactly what we’ve found.

CreativityWill BurnsAugust 8, 2023consciousness, erwin Schrödinger, creativity

"John will whistle at me, and I whistle back at him." The Creative Process According To Paul McCartney

"John will whistle at me, and I whistle back at him." The Creative Process According To Paul McCartney

I stumbled upon a wonderful Facebook post from Beatle John on Facebook today that I think gives us several insights into the creative process. The post quotes Ivor Davis, an investigative reporter who was given unprecedented access to The Beatles when they were on tour in the early 1960’s. In the following blurb, Davis describes what he saw when he saw John and Paul working, creating, and writing some of the greatest music of all time.

CreativityWill BurnsAugust 1, 2023beatles, Paul mccartney, John Lennon, creativity

10 Things You'll Learn About Yourself And About Creativity While Generating Ideas Using Ideasicle X

10 Things You'll Learn About Yourself And About Creativity While Generating Ideas Using Ideasicle X

I’ve been using some form of Ideasicle X for fourteen years now, two with our new web application. And along the way my entire view of creativity itself has changed. I’ve learned so much about myself, I’ve learned new skills, and sharpened old ones. All by using this idea generating platform. Here are ten.

CreativityWill BurnsJuly 21, 2023creativity, learning, virtual

3 Ways Virtual Idea Generation In Teams Of 4 Nourishes The Imagination

3 Ways Virtual Idea Generation In Teams Of 4 Nourishes The Imagination

In today's interconnected world, virtual collaboration has become the norm for teams across diverse industries. While the benefits of virtual teamwork are widely acknowledged, one aspect that often goes unnoticed is the profound impact it has on nourishing a participant’s imagination. In this blog post, we explore three compelling ways in which virtual idea generation in teams nurtures the creative spirit, allowing ideas to flourish.

CreativityWill BurnsJuly 11, 2023creativity, virtual, remote work

Combine The Effects Of 3 Scientific Studies On Creativity To Supercharge Your Ideas

Combine The Effects Of 3 Scientific Studies On Creativity To Supercharge Your Ideas

We are constantly scouring the science out there as it relates to improving our creativity. We want every advantage, right? You can see all of the individual studies we’ve found so far on our Science tab. But what if we combined the insights from different studies? How unstoppable would we be then? Well, let’s see what happens when you combine walking, the color green, and getting off your smartphone.

CreativityWill BurnsJune 20, 2023creativity, studies, research

J.P. Guilford’s ‘Unusual Uses’ Study Was The Mother Of All Modern Creativity Studies

J.P. Guilford’s ‘Unusual Uses’ Study Was The Mother Of All Modern Creativity Studies

Creativity is a complex and fascinating phenomenon that has captivated humans for centuries. From the works of Leonardo da Vinci to the innovations of Steve Jobs, creativity has been celebrated as a hallmark of genius and a key driver of progress and innovation. However, for a long time, creativity was thought to be an elusive and mysterious concept that could not be isolated, measured or studied scientifically. That all changed with a groundbreaking study by J.P. Guilford in the 1960s.

CreativityWill BurnsMay 8, 2023J. P. Guilford, creativity, unusual uses, research

Top 5 Reasons Your Marketing Ideas Are Lacking Lately

Top 5 Reasons Your Marketing Ideas Are Lacking Lately

For 13 years we have been on the front lines of bad ideas. Wait, that didn’t come out right. Let me try again. For 13 years we have been on the front lines interacting with marketers and agencies who are sick of their bad ideas and need help. That’s better. So we hear all the reasons. And sometimes it’s not until they see our process that they see what their own issues were. Anyway, here you go. The top 5 reasons marketing ideas have been lacking according to our customers.

CreativityWill BurnsMay 5, 2023ideas, client, agency, creativity

Alan Watts And The Profound Importance Of Human Creativity

Alan Watts And The Profound Importance Of Human Creativity

Alan Watts was an English philosopher, writer, and speaker, focusing on popularizing Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu philosophies for a Western audience. I stumbled upon him years ago while killing time on YouTube and was blown away. I highly recommend any of his lectures. But one point he made in one lecture has always stuck with me and just today I realized why: it explains the importance of human creativity.

CreativityWill BurnsApril 13, 2023Alan Watts, creativity, universe, big bang, ideas

Ideas Are Accidents Waiting To Happen

Ideas Are Accidents Waiting To Happen

We like to think ideas are in our control. That we can sit down, think, and boom, an idea will happen. And that may happen for some, sometimes. But more often than not an idea hits you when you least expect it. In the shower, while gardening, or even by accident. I was curious about accidental ideas and did a little research. What follows are several great examples of these accidents and then ways we might be able to encourage happy accidents to occur.

CreativityWill BurnsApril 6, 2023creativity, slinky, viagra, penicillin, ideas

When Nothing Is As It Seems, Creativity Has A Chance

When Nothing Is As It Seems, Creativity Has A Chance

Look at the problems you face, look at the components of those problems, and ask yourself, “I see what this component is, but what could it be?” The more we can train ourselves to realize nothing is as it seems, the more likely we are to see beyond the narrow definitions that surround us, and the more likely we are to see all that things that could be.

CreativityWill BurnsMarch 7, 2023brick test, creativity, ideas, paradigms

Study Suggests Multitasking Creative Projects Increases Creativity

Study Suggests Multitasking Creative Projects Increases Creativity

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a creative rut when you're jamming like hell on a particular idea project, unable to generate new ideas? According to a recent study by Jackson G. Lu, Modupe Akinola, and Malia Mason at Columbia Business School, switching back and forth from one creative task to another can actually increase creativity by reducing a thing called “cognitive fixation.”

CreativityWill BurnsFebruary 27, 2023Columbia Business School, cognitive fixation, creativity, freelance

ChatGPT Is Not Innovative Or Creative, But It's Still Useful For Innovation And Creativity

ChatGPT Is Not Innovative Or Creative, But It's Still Useful For Innovation And Creativity

We’ve been playing around with ChatGPT now for a few weeks. And while many sages in the advertising industry are poo-pooing it for not being innovative or bringing truly original creativity, I think they are missing a powerful and useful application of this technology. And one we plan to use at Ideasicle X.

Creativity, News & UpdatesWill BurnsJanuary 24, 2023ChatGPT, artificial intelligence, AI, creativity, SEO, Perpetual Traffic Podcast, Michael Cottam