5 reasons to go for a thought walk

Everybody knows that sitting behind a desk for too long is not very productive. It’s a good idea to get up and go outside. Here are five reasons why you should take a walk outside once in a while:

1. Refreshment
The first benefit of going outside is rather obvious: fresh air.
While working in an office might be productive at times, many office buildings are rather stuffy. Unless you tend to sit next to a wide open window, you’ll recognise the importance of a stroll outside, to kickstart your productivity and to keep you from dozing off.

2. Improved capabilities
A walk in the park, a stroll in the city or just a lap around the office building is not just refreshing because of the extra oxygen. Research shows that a little exercise actually improves our mental capabilities. Why this is the case is still not exactly clear, but it might have to do with the increased blood flow to the brain.

3. Inspiration
Now that you’re walking around anyway, why not make the most of it? Look around and be open to inspiration. Whether seeing someone struggle with a daily chore, looking at some inventive architecture or observing an animal that uses some clever tactics to survive… anything you encounter can be the inspiration you need.

4. Random input
Whenever you walk around in the city, a great opportunity presents itself. There are interesting objects, companies and occupations all around you. Feel free to pick something unrelated to your problem to get your creative juices flowing. Force yourself to make connections between the interesting object you chose and your challenge. Making connections between a random object and your problem is an easy and powerful way to get innovative results. Starting from an unusual point can lead you to ideas that would never have occurred to you otherwise.

5. Incubation
After struggling with a problem for too long, it is time to let go. When you find yourself frustrated, with a headache but no closer to a solution… step back. Go outside and take a walk in the park. Try to forget about your problem altogether. This short period of incubation will send your subconscious to work. While you relax, your subconscious will do the heavy lifting. Be it when you are walking back to the office, or later that day during dinner… your solution will come to you, as if by divine intervention.

What do you do to get your creative juices flowing?
Let me know in the comment box below.

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