BE MORE PRODUCTIVE

CONDITION YOUR CREATIVITYLife is not always straightforward, especially when we decide to pursue a dream. You need to be creative to reach your goal. Here are some ideas to exercise your 'creativity muscle'.The example is a task to which Mr. Vaidya was set during the 1997 Mind Sports Olympiad: "List as many uses as possible for a soft-boiled egg". Write down anything that comes to mind, be it practical, silly or outrageous Look around you. Pick each item that you can see in turn and use it to create a new idea. For instance, I can see a plant in front of me. This suggests using the egg as fertilizer, or using the eggshell as a tiny pot for growing plants or herbs. Think in broad categories. For instance: people, commercial, industrial, charity, movies. Then narrow it down: soft-boiled eggs and people might suggest having a breakfast with friends, an egg-race, a soft-boiled egg competition.Analyze the object, think of all its aspects. A soft-boiled egg consists of a shell, egg-white, some hard egg-yoke and some soft egg-yoke. What can you do with each of those? Use all your senses. What does a soft-boiled egg taste like, feel like, look like, smell like. This suggests leaving the egg out to rot, putting one in front of each of your windows, to deter burglars.Broaden the question. For instance "List as many uses as possible for an object". See what ideas this gives you, and then see how you can do this with an egg. For instance, you would use an object to get to work. If you covered your route to work with soft-boiled eggs (peeled), you could slide to work.TAME YOUR TIMEAs the saying goes, ‘Time and tide wait for no man.” How true it holds! We all are stressed for time. How often do we feel that 24 hours in a day is not enough? We have too much work to do in too little time. If not, we have way too much time on our hands. It is only a lucky few amongst us who have managed to attain a perfect balance between their work and time. Learning from them we have a few tips that might help you use your time more effectively. Keep A Clean Desk and plan out your activities for the day. You sure wouldn’t want to waste those precious minutes looking for your diary or a piece of paper!Make a list and prioritise what you have to accomplish. Establish realistic deadlines for the completion of your work taking into account the possible interruptions. Try and have a contingency plan in case you face some dead ends.Do not postpone important matters that are unpleasant. Jobs rarely get more pleasant by being postponed. Do it now!Try to fix definite times when you would not like to be disturbed, and make the system work except for genuine emergencies.Plan your Filing System for optimum usage of space and easy accessibility. When you start a piece of work, try to finish it without interruptions. If you have to finish it later, you will lose time picking up where you left off.Arrange your breaks at times when you cannot work effectively.Learn to say ‘No';. Get used to asking yourself ‘Am I the right person for this job?’Stress and fatigue are rarely caused by the things you have done, but by the thought of what you haven’t done!If Someone Calls when you are busy decide on a time when you can return his or her call. Be aware of how much time you are on the phone. Just because someone wants to talk doesn’t mean you have to.Plan your telephone calls. Make a brief note of what you want to say and what you want to find out. It saves time later. If you have several phone calls to make, do them all in a burst.If you have An Unexpected Visitor put your work first unless it is an emergency.Don't scribble numbers or place ideas on loose scraps of paper. Always have a small notebook or pad and write things down there. Save these for future reference.Make a habit of finishing the main job of the day before you go home. Be as silly as you want to be. The first step is to create the (silly or not) ideas. Once you have enough ideas can you put on your 'practical' hat and decide how to use your ideas.