“Creativity” is not just about art and crafts. The law can be an incredibly creative and innovative profession.

As part of my series on learning and knowledge creation (to help you with the new CPD/continuing competence regime) I’m looking at creativity.

What practical and affordable steps can you take to break out of ingrained patterns of thinking in order to think differently, more broadly and innovatively?

1. Try going for a walk.

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/walking-helps-us-think

2. Try to engage your diffuse mode of thinking, by switching off in some way.

Dali used sit and relax while holding a key. When he dropped off to sleep, he dropped the key and woke himself up. Edison did the same thing with ball bearings. Both found that a useful way to think differently about problems.

3. Read something new

Reading something new improves connectivity in the brain and forces you to look at your practice from a different perspective.

Read a novel – it improves brain function.

Try reading a general business book (not a lawyer-specific one) such as “Blue Ocean Strategy”, or a book from a genre you usually avoid (biography of Ada Lovelace, “Where good ideas come from” Steven Johnson).

Or even a book about creativity itself (I like this list of 10).

And once you have tried out these three methods to improve your creativity, make a note in your reflective learning diary or learning record about how each of these methods worked for you: how they made you feel, how well they worked for you, how you would adapt them to work better for you next time.  This way, next time you need to improve your innovation and creativity levels, you know what to do.

If you need a bit of help with implementing the new CPD/continuous competence regime, I can help you:

1. follow this blog for regular articles about knowledge creation/learning and knowledge management (button is on the top right, or sign up for the busy-person’s monthly summary, or both)
2. book an in-house training session on the new regime, how you can implement it, reflective learning, or any of my other knowledge-relate topics
3. book some training with coaching to help you through the changes and ensure you achieve your goal
4. if you are really stuck, I can simply organise everything for you 🙂

Get in touch.