Comments on: How Interruptions Can Make You More Creative

By: Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:37:08 +0000

Thanks Dave, grea tip!

By: Dave Ferguson

Dave Ferguson — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:46:27 +0000

I don't know that I'm all that creative, but I think you're on solid ground with the pause-versus-switch analysis. I will move from working at my laptop (which is in a stand, so the monitor's at eye level) to scribbling on paper at my desk, to sketching on the whiteboard or flipchart mounted on the wall. So those are each potential pauses from work in one of the other modes. Another useful tip: drink lots of fluids while you're working. Eventually, you'll have to pause. Dave Ferguson's last blog post..Which pegboard for your knowledge tools?

By: karlita

karlita — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:45:32 +0000

karlita’s last blog post..Interesting podcast about creative business on the web

By: Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:18:14 +0000

Thanks for the comment and link Karlita, much appreciated.When the comments are as nice as that I think I can allow a little off-topic discussion.

By: karlita

karlita — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:45:13 +0000

Hi Mark, just wanted to let you know I discovered this website through the Podcast from Antonio Gould and I’ll def. be back to read some more here – very interesting things. I blogged a little about the podcast and you too Hope you don’t mind me commenting her, since it’s not directly related to this article. just wanted to let you know

karlita’s last blog post..Interesting podcast about creative business on the web

By: Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:01:45 +0000

Thanks David. Come to think of it, I guess comments can be another kind of creative interruption.

By: David Airey

David Airey — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:35:57 +0000

Great article, Mark. Glad to read the software helped you out. Looks very appealing. David Airey's last blog post..All about Paul Rand

By: Mark McGuinness

Mark McGuinness — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:52:46 +0000

Thanks Loretta, I’m delighted to hear my article resonated with your experience of tai chi. Very wise words from your teacher. It reminds me of attending meditation retreats at a Buddhist monastery – the first time I went, I thought ‘meditation’ was what happened on the cushion, and was a little sceptical of the idea of describing our daily tasks (preparing food, cleaning up etc) as ‘working meditation’. But the more I did it, the more I realised the teachers were trying to get us to approach all aspects of life with mindfulness, not just special activities like sitting meditation. It sounds like tai chi takes a similar approach. I’ve been learning aikido for 18 months, which also emphasizes the art as a way of approaching daily life.

By: Loretta Donnelly

Loretta Donnelly — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:47:33 +0000

As a tai chi (taijiquan) teacher, I really enjoyed this article. It got me to thinking back to how my teacher, Master Jou Tsung Hwa, used to remind me that the most powerful way to use tai chi was to intersperse it into your life – to meld it as part of your way of life, instead of feeling pressured to carve out that hour here or there. Sure, while dedicating an hour or more to focus on it daily can lead to mastery, most people don’t have that kind of time. So, the real enlightenment, he claimed, was to fuse the WAY of it into the “things you do” in your daily life. How few of us actually see it that way! Thanks for reminding us to take those “breaks” that actually make us MORE creative and productive!!!

By: How Do You Prevent Your Readers To Get Bored? » Reader Appreciation Project

How Do You Prevent Your Readers To Get Bored? » Reader Appreciation Project — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:01:19 +0000

[...] try to make readers think whether boredom is a friend or a foe, while others just discover the benefits of interruptions in work by using AntiRSI, a software which will force you to have a break from your computer activities at [...]