In this unit, you learned about the importance of creativity in your life-both professionally and personally. The unit even prompted you to test yourself with a few different creative exercises. Did you actually test yourself?
If not, now is your chance! (And if you did, you now have an opportunity to try it again and record your work.)
To get your creative juices flowing and test your creative abilities, you will be performing several different creative exercises and submitting your results. Each exercise will focus on a different method that you can use to bring your imaginative and creative ideas to fruition.
For each exercise, simply follow the instructions. If it is possible to complete the exercise digitally, feel free to do so using whatever program makes the most sense. If it seems more appropriate to complete an activity by hand, be sure to take pictures of the process (if appropriate) and the finished product.
You will submit all photos or digital work to the dropbox when complete.
And remember, have fun! These activities are meant to stretch your creative abilities and get you thinking in a more imaginative manner. Exercise 1: Fluency
"When you have fluency, you are able to generate different ideas."
How many foreign language words can you think of in two minutes?
Grab a stopwatch (or use the timer on a phone and a pen and paper (or open a word processing document). Set the timer for two minutes and jot down every word you can think of in a foreign language— any foreign language!
That means that you do not have to only record Spanish words or French words-if you know Greek or Chinese words, write those down too! The goal is to get out as many foreign language words as possible.
Save the file that you typed up or take a photo of your written list and submit with the remaining exercises. "While fluency is about generating a lot of ideas, flexibility is about producing a lot of ideas that are different from one another."
Come up with five different ways that someone could avoid identity theft. The key word is
'different' —the only requirement for this exercise is that each of the five ideas are different from one another.
You do not need to elaborate too much on any one idea, as long as it is fairly self-explanatory. Try not to spend more than 15 minutes on this exercise and see what you come up with!
Exercise 3: Elaboration
"Elaboration is about fine tuning all the ideas that you have."
For this activity, you will need a pencil and blank paper. Draw a circle of any size on your paper. Then, use your pencil to transform that circle into something else, something that is easily recognizable, using your drawing skills.
Flip your paper over. Now, draw a square of any size. Again, use your drawing skills to transform that square into something easily recognizable.
The idea is to transform your original idea (circle, square) into something else using details and finishing touches. Exercise 4: Originality
Originality is what distinguishes something and makes it stand out."
Think about an unusual, original way you could celebrate someone's birthday (or other special event) without spending any money.
Use a word processing program or pen and paper to record your brainstorms and then formulate a brief paragraph summarizing your thoughts and ideas.
Include one or two sentences about what makes your idea original and stand out.
Reflection:
Once you complete all four exercises, write a brief reflection that examines and explores how you felt about this activity. In addition to your general thoughts, answer the following:
• Do you think that it helped bring out your creative side?
• Did you find it difficult/easy?
• What are some other exercises that might help flex your creative muscles?
I did complete all four exercises and found them to be both challenging and fun.
For the Fluency exercise, I was able to come up with a good amount of foreign language words in just two minutes. It was interesting to see how many I could recall off the top of my head.
In the Flexibility exercise, coming up with five different ways to avoid identity theft was a bit more challenging. However, it forced me to think outside the box and consider different approaches to the problem.
The Elaboration exercise was enjoyable as it allowed me to be creative with my drawing skills. It was satisfying to see how a simple shape could transform into something completely different with a few details added.
For the Originality exercise, thinking of a unique way to celebrate someone's birthday without spending money was a great exercise in original thinking. It made me consider alternative ways to show someone you care without resorting to traditional gifts or parties.
Overall, I think these exercises did help bring out my creative side. They pushed me to think differently and consider various perspectives on each task. I found them to be moderately difficult but not overwhelmingly so.
Some other exercises that might help flex creative muscles could include brainstorming sessions with a group, trying out different art mediums, or even taking a different route to work to spark new ideas. Anything that challenges the norm and forces you to think outside the box can be a great way to flex your creative muscles.