"Practicing Strategic Incubation for Creativity"

1. Phase 1: Initial Brainstorm (The Fixation Phase): Choose a common object (e.g., a paperclip). Set a timer for 2 minutes and list as many unusual or creative uses for it as you can. You will likely start with obvious uses (e.g., "holding papers together") before hitting a "wall" where unhelpful, fixated ideas block new ones.

2. Phase 2: The Incubation Break (The Mind-Wandering Phase): Stop working on the problem for 10 to 15 minutes. During this time, engage in an undemanding, repetitive task that allows your mind to wander, such as folding laundry, taking a slow walk, or washing dishes. Crucially, do not try to think about the paperclip; allow your thoughts to drift freely.

3. Phase 3: Creative Re-entry: Return to the paperclip and spend another 2 minutes listing new uses.

4. The Analysis: Compare your lists. You will likely find that the ideas generated in Phase 3 are semantically more distant from the object's original function than those in Phase 1.

Continue