Being creative is definitely one of the superpowers of modern times. Alas, various TV series and movies have warped this amazing skill beyond recognition.

There is always some charming and smug asshole who seems to deliver a brilliant solution after one glance at the piece of paper. I mean, how realistic is that?

Being creative is a hard work and more often than not, it's a long process. And it's certainly not easy.

Problems with coming up with creative solutions

I love to walk around the town and observe how new businesses prosper.

As in any big city (Wroclaw - see some pictures here), there is always a new shop or a restaurant cropping up around the corner.

And as in any big city, most of them go bankrupt. There is nothing weird about this.

Let's go through them to see where the potential pitfalls lie.

1. Lack of system

I know plenty of really smart people but almost none of them have any system for being creative. When asked why they usually answer that:

And I get it.

Everyone would like to be this spontaneous genius. You see a problem and bam!

Just 5 seconds later you shake out a brilliant idea out of your sleeve. The crowd cheers, your admirers sway as you walk on and grace them with your greatness.

2. Availability Heuristic

Availability Bias or Heuristic, the term coined by Daniel Kahneman, states that we tend to most easily recall what is salient, important, frequent, and recent.

This tendency can be perceived as the brain's energy-saving mode.

Why burn through precious deposits of glucose to recall everything when you can just concentrate on what's available?

3. First-conclusion bias

If you want another proof that your brain is lazy and spiteful, look no more.

First-conclusion bias states that most of the time, we are willing to accept the first idea we get. Once again, this is yet another energy-saving mechanism of ours.

Once again, the problem is that the first conclusion is rarely any good.

Now that you know your enemy a little bit better, let's take a closer look at the process of being creative.

The most important tenet of creativity

"Since the only way you are going to find solutions to painful problems is by thinking deeply about them—i.e., reflecting." - Ray Dalio

We like to think about being creative as of something magical. You know, the magic comes, rubs you gently on your arms and sticks the right words into your ears together with its tongue.

The reality is that it's definitely more like pushing a boulder up the hill. If you drop it, you will probably never pick it up again.

And that means that

Thinking flashcards - how to make them

1. Create a separate deck

Once you download it, create a separate deck and call it appropriately (like Bartosz's Magical Idea Deck).

2. Select a problem you want to solve

It doesn't matter how big a problem is as long as it is something that bothers you. If nothing comes to your mind right now but you would like to give this strategy a try, here are a couple of ideas which might help you:

Once you're done, put the name of the problem into the question field

3. Add two things into the answer field

a) Limitations:

I believe that placing some limitations on your ideas is one of the best ways to boost your creativity. It limits the general pool of possibilities and allows you to concentrate on the ones that count.

b) Tools/facts/information

Put anything which can contribute even slightly to solving the problem. Facts, products, tools, people and so on.

Example:

A friend of mine runs a very successful pub (its motif is a pre-war Poland). He has been increasing his profit for many years now but it seems that he's running out of steam.

Q: How to increase the profit of X pub?
A:

limitations:

​tools/ideas/facts:

What's more, you don't have to flesh out all your ideas right away. You can add more details with every next review of your thinking flashcard.

Final words

Throughout the years, I have read about dozens of different creativity techniques but this is the only one which has allowed to be consistent. There are good reasons for that.

Thinking flashcards help you:

Especially, if you already use ANKI or other SRS program. What's more, they don't cost you much energy. If you have ever given up on your creativity in the past, maybe it's time to reconsider!

Your homework

It would be a shame to let this article go to waste. If you find this method appealing, choose one problem you have and get down to work.

Remember - it doesn't have to be anything big. As always, the trickiest part is to start. Of course, if you decide to use it, please let me know how it went.