The 10-Minute Task

Committing to daily creativity.

For nearly the last decade, I’ve conducted dozens of radical workshops on creative thinking for corporate executives.  My company is called “Creative Voltage” and we use abstract art as a learning tool. My clients include a sweet list of Fortune 500 standouts, and media giants. I also hold private experiential seminars for a number of prominent CEOs with a passion for art.

In my sessions, I encourage those top tier business minds to find time to create something–every day. It doesn’t matter what they produce—because these exercises are always about the creative process—not product. I can’t emphasize that enough.

It’s always a daunting task to step way outside one’s comfort zone—but in the end—the journey is always worth it. The only way to stimulate the right brain, from my experience, is to engage the right brain. And though I’ve taught hundreds of people how to do it, I still struggle with finding time to consistently ambien create my own art.

To celebrate the launching of my blog, I’m therefore committing to a daily 10-minute task–my own internal “creative zone.” At the start of each day, or the end of each night, I sit down at my art table and paint, or draw–just like I did when I was a kid—with no boundaries, no expectations, no judgment. Whether I ultimately like what I’ve created is immaterial.  I’m making art.

I encourage you to try this with me. Let me know how it feels. Let me know if it jumpstarts your creative process.  I’ll be posting some of these “abstractions” for you to peruse. Here are a few from my first week. I used my favorite Caran D’Ache water-soluble “Neocolor” crayons. I drew with my left hand though I’m a righty. I like the way it seems to naturally “disconnect” the work from my otherwise judgmental brain.

Give yourself 10-minutes. See what happens. Send me your scribbles. I used an iphone–it’s an easy upload.