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ARCHITECT: Zoom In On Your Heart

ARCHITECT: Zoom In On Your Heart

by | Jan 24, 2019

Zoom In On Your Heart

Answer three key questions to focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Style

Architect

Skill

Finding the Heart

Time

15 mins

THE ATTIC:

Zoom In On the Heart

While there are only three questions in this exercise, there are likely a number of answers to explore. Give yourself the space to answer in a variety of directions to start. Then, review the ideas that arose, choose the answers that are most helpful, intriguing, or surprising, and follow that thinking through the second and third questions.

Your goal is to zoom in on what matters most to you in this project, and you are more likely to find that key insight by looking at the question from a number of angles.

 

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer

  • Paper

  • Pen

1. Set the timer for five minutes. List as many answers as you can to this question: In this idea, what matters most to me?

– If you run out of ideas, and there is still time, keep thinking until the timer buzzes. Sometimes the ideas that come after we think we’ve run out are the most helpful.

– If you run out of time but you still have more to say, allow yourself to keep going for a reasonable amount of time. Keep in mind that there are two more steps, and you want to have time for the entire exercise.

2. Review your answers, and star the ones that are most helpful, intriguing, or surprising. Ideally, you’ll have two or three ideas starred.

3. Set your timer for two minutes per starred item and list reasons why. Sometimes it helps to think in categories: personal, professional, community, etc.

4. Review your reasons, and then set the timer for a final five minutes. Write in as much detail to answer: What might success look like? Paint the scene of the project, finished, and how it will be experienced by others. If you can, invent a specific moment, a specific person, and build a circumstance that is meaningful to you.

5. The timer may run out, but keep going if you’re on a roll. You may want to revise your story into a short two-three paragraph reminder of where you’re headed. Keep your writing close at hand–it will help keep you focused on what’s most important in your work.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Freewrite Your Heart

FOR INVENTORS

Move your hand across the page speedily to bypass your critic and discover your heart.

Try This

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

FOR COLLABORATORS

Choose a confidant and write a letter about your project. What is most important to you about creating this artwork?

Try This

Frame Your Heart in Three

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose three adjectives that focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Try This

Frame Your Heart in Three

Frame Your Heart in Three

by | Jan 24, 2019

Frame Your Heart in Three

Choose three adjectives that focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Style

Special Agent

Skill

Finding the Heart

Time

5 mins

THE ATTIC:

Frame Your Heart in Three

Don’t let the simplicity of this exercise fool you. Taking the time to choose three adjectives that you’d be proud to use to describe your project when it is finished can give you a powerful focus. Your adjectives will help you avoid detours, and ensure that when you reach the end of your creative process, you land at the desired destination.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer

  • Index Cards

  • Pen

1. Take a moment to picture your project when it is finished. Picture the circumstance in which you might you share it with a friend.

2. Imagine for a moment how you would describe the project. What kinds of words might you use?

3. Set your timer for two minutes and write one word per card, listing as many adjectives as you can think of that describe how the project will look and feel. Go for a variety.

4. Spread out your index cards and begin to sort them. Stack synonyms. Then, try to rank the words in order of importance. Your goal is to finish with three words that create a frame (think triangle) that show three key aspects of your finished work.

5. Post your three words somewhere where you can see and reference them often.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Freewrite Your Heart

FOR INVENTORS

Move your hand across the page speedily to bypass your critic and discover your heart.

Try This

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

FOR COLLABORATORS

Choose a confidant and write a letter about your project. What is most important to you about creating this artwork?

Try This

Zoom In On the Heart

FOR ARCHITECTS

Answer three key questions to focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Try This

Freewrite Your Heart

Freewrite Your Heart

by | Jan 24, 2019

Freewrite Your Heart

Move your hand across the page speedily to bypass your critic and discover your heart.

Style

Inventor

Skill

Finding the Heart

Time

15 mins

THE ATTIC:

Freewrite Your Heart

You’ll do best with this activity if you can get your heart rate up before you start. Consider turning on some music you love and dancing for a few minutes before sitting down to write. Then, without thinking too hard, dive into the writing with the same intensity that you used when you were dancing. Make writing as physical as it can be, bypassing your brain as much as possible.

You want to race the clock right past your inner critic to find those aha! moments that you might not discover in a different state of mind.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer

  • Paper

  • Pen

1. Set your timer for ten minutes.

2. Ask yourself: What matters to me in this idea? What are the non-negotiables? How do I hope the outcome will feel and flow? Start writing as fast as you can, using connecting phrases to keep your pen moving.

– And so …

– Which makes me think that …

– Because …

– What I really mean to say is …

– Another way to look at it is …

– It reminds me of …

3. When the time is up, read over your entry. Underline thoughts that stand out. If you think there’s more to say, and you have more time to write, expand on the thoughts you’ve underlined.

5. Tuck this writing away for a day when you need a reminder of why you’re working so hard on this project.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Frame Your Heart in Three

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose three adjectives that focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Try This

Zoom In On the Heart

FOR ARCHITECTS

Answer three key questions to focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Try This

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

FOR COLLABORATORS

Choose a confidant and write a letter about your project. What is most important to you about creating this artwork?

Try This

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

by | Jan 24, 2019

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

Choose a confidant and write a letter about your project. What is most important to you about creating this artwork?

Style

Collaborator

Skill

Finding the Heart

Time

15 mins

THE ATTIC:

Share Your Heart with a Loved One

 Whether you share your letter or not, writing about the importance of your project to a specific person can unlock buried ideas and insights. When you give yourself a goal — to communicate clearly — you can rattle loose thoughts that were otherwise stuck.

Consider, too, writing to more than one person. Each reader will draw out different aspects of your personality, and the combined insight may surprise you.

Materials

How to Play

  • Timer

  • Paper

  • Pen
  • Envelope (optional)

1. Choose a friend or family member who you trust.

2. Set your timer for ten minutes.

3. Write a letter to your loved one, explaining your project and why it matters to you.

– What do you want to create?

– What obstacles are you facing? What are your fears?

– Why are you willing to face them anyway?

– Are there examples, common points of reference between the two of you, that help to describe what you’re trying to do and why?

– What, if anything, could your loved one do to help support you in this effort? (And if you don’t send the letter, is this “ask” something you could ask of yourself? Sometimes we look to outside people for support we have every ability to offer ourselves.)

4. Read over your letter and underline thoughts that stand out. If you think there’s more to say, and you have more time to write, expand on the thoughts you’ve underlined.

5. If you’d like, send the letter to your friend. Or, keep it in a safe place where you can reference it when you need a reminder about the WHY of this project.

Adaptations

Try a Character

If you’re writing a story, step into the shoes of one of your characters and write from their perspective. Again, choose a loved one, or a pair of loved ones, that will bring out various parts of their personality. Instead of asking yourself about the project, ask about the main situation in the story. Then, use the rest of the questions in step three to deepen your understanding of this character’s motivations and purpose.

Try a User

Step into the role of a reader, or of someone who will experience or use the item you’re creating. Assume reading the story or interacting with the object is important to this user. Why would that be? What desire or need does this item address for them? How does it shift their mindset, provide new perspective, offer resources, or help in other ways? The more specifics you use, the more helpful this exercise will be.

Try On Other Creative Styles

Freewrite Your Heart

FOR INVENTORS

Move your hand across the page speedily to bypass your critic and discover your heart.

Try This

Frame Your Heart in Three

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Choose three adjectives that focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Try This

Zoom In On the Heart

FOR ARCHITECTS

Answer three key questions to focus your attention on the core of this project, and its importance to you.

Try This

Question Starters

Question Starters

by | Aug 7, 2018

Question Starters

Explore your personal connection with your idea through a series of question starters.

Style

Architect

Skill

Asking Questions

Time

15-25 minutes

THE ATTIC:

Question Starters

 

The purpose of asking questions in the Attic is to find what’s central in your idea and what is not. As an Architect, you may not naturally spend time on this kind of big-picture thinking before diving into the details. However, this questioning process will help you decide which details are the most important, so it will definitely save you time in the end. Make the process more enjoyable by using question starters to guide your thinking. That way, you can focus your creative energy on detailing answers rather than coming up with big-picture questions.

Materials

How to Play

  • Index Cards
  • Paper
  • Pencil
  • Timer

1. Write these question starters on index cards:

  • Why does … catch my attention?
  • What experiences have I had that relate to … ?
  • If a friend didn’t understand why … mattered to me, how would I explain why I disagree?
  • What do I wish were true about … ?
  • Who do I know that reminds me of …?
  • What is most important to me about …?

2. Set the timer for five minutes, and shuffle your cards.

3. Turn one over, and finish the question in a few ways that relate to your idea. Then, turn another over, and do the same.

4. Once the time is up, you’ll have a list of questions. Choose two or three that are most compelling, and free-write your answers. Set a timer for each free-write, if you like. Take two-five minutes on each answer.

5. End your session by creating a “How might I … ?” question that will help focus your attention on what you have found to be most important through the reflective process of asking and answering questions.

6. Keep your index cards! This is a game you can return to again and again, for multiple purposes.

Adaptations

See the Forest Through the Trees

If you find yourself bogged down in the details mid-project, stop and use this game to help you sort out what matters from what might not be so important. Focus on finding the pieces that should be let go, or that you can add in phase two or three. Remember, done is better than perfect. Most of the time, finishing a project gives you the opportunity for feedback, learning and growth.

Tackle A Creative Block

This game works equally well for working through creative blocks. Instead of starting with an idea, start with a problem. Utilize the same process of finishing the question starters and then exploring answers for the most compelling ones. At the end of the game, come up with a “How might I … ?” question that will focus your energy on proactive movement past your obstacle and toward your goal.

Try On Other Creative Styles

The Question Bullseye

FOR SPECIAL AGENTS

Clarify your project by exploring what’s central in the idea for you.

Try This

What If ... ?

FOR INVENTORS

Use this classic question to explore the possibilities in your idea.

Try This

Importance Interview

FOR COLLABORATORS

Explore what’s most important to you in your idea by digging deep with a friend.

Try This

Wondering What Your Creativity Style Is?

Your creativity is like a fingerprint: completely unique to you. That said, by understanding how you fit (or don’t) into one of four creativity archetypes, you can more easily identify your approach to the creative process. Think of the creativity styles as hats. You may wear one most of the time, but another on special occasions. Your unique blend of personas will affect how you approach each phase of the creative process.

What's Your Creativity Style?