五个同时提高创造力和生产力的方法

You don’t need to choose one or the other. By implementing these tactics, you can learn to work smarter as you see your creativity flourish.

创造力和生产力可以同时获得。通过下面这些技巧，你可以在提高生产力的同时也提高创造力。

Creativity and productivity are too often seen as opposing forces battling for your time and the soul of your work. But working longer and harder isn’t the only way to be productive, and thinking creatively can achieve amazing results. It’s all in how you approach your work.

创造力和生产力常常被视为对立力量，一个消耗时间，另一个消耗脑力。但是，工作时间越长、越努力并不是唯一的提高生产力又具有创造力的方法。改进工作方式，鱼和熊掌可以兼得。

Even after decades of extensive research, we actually still know relatively little about creativity, let alone how to make ourselves more creative. What we have been able to identify are patterns and traits that affect creative thinking. Based on those, we can create hacks and tools based on what stifles creativity and what helps it thrive.

即使经过了几十年的研究，我们仍然对创造力知之甚少，更别提如何让自己更有创造力了。我们能够理解的是影响创造性思维的模式和特征。基于对扼杀创造力、提高创造力的要素的认识，我们可以创造一些工具和手段。

It starts with the four “Ps” of creativity, first described by educational scientist Mel Rhodes. There are two factors that you can’t really control–the traits of creative Persons and the Products (or outcome) of your creativity. Then, there are two traits you can control–the Processes you use and the Press or environment you work in.

首先是由教育科学家梅尔•罗德斯(Mel Rhodes)所描述的四个“p”。有两个因素是你无法真正控制的——创意人士的特质和创造力的产物(或结果)。有两种你可以控制的特征——你使用的过程和你工作的环境。

The following hacks and tools for creative thinkers can help anyone be more creative. Each one plays into one of the two Ps that are within your control–either your Process or your Press (environment). Instead of ways to get more done, here are five tricks to bring creativity to your work to get better work done:

下面的技巧和工具可以帮助有创造力的人更有创造力。每一个都在你控制的两个p中发挥作用，要么是你的过程，要么是你的环境。这里有5个技巧可以让你的工作变得更有创造性：

Ever noticed how you might feel more creative about a problem when you’re further away from it–perhaps when taking a shower at home after work? That’s psychological distance at work. Psychological distance helps creativity, according to psychology professor Lile Jia. Our minds are more likely to think creatively about things we aren’t experiencing right here, right now, without Stress.

有没有注意到，当你远离工作的时候，你可能会觉得自己更有创造力——也许是下班后在家里洗澡?这是工作中的心理距离。心理学教授Lile Jia表示，心理距离帮助我们提高创造力。在没有压力的情况下，我们的大脑更有可能创造性地思考我们现在没有经历的事情。

That means to be creative, we need to feel a little more removed from the problem. One way is to take another person’s perspective. Ask yourself: Who else is working on this problem or talking about this issue?

这意味着要有创造力，我们需要从当下的问题中抽离出来。一种方法是接受他人的观点。问问自己:还有谁在研究这个问题或者讨论这个问题?

Another way to create psychological distance is to reformulate the task by thinking of the central issue or question as if it was hypothetical, unlikely, futuristic, distant, or unreal. For example, if you want a team to come up with all possible solutions to traffic jams in a city, don’t choose your city. Find a sister city that is thousands of miles away, if possible, with similar statistics, to get the creative solutions started.

另一种创造心理距离的方法是通过思考中心问题来重新制定任务，就好像它是假设的、不可能的、未来的、遥远的或不真实的。例如，如果你想要一个团队想出所有可能的解决方案来解决城市的交通堵塞问题，不要选择你的城市。如果可能的话，找一个远在千里之外的姐妹城市，用类似的统计数据，开始制定让创造性的解决方案。

Another way to achieve psychological distance is to switch to another project anytime you start to feel overwhelmed, and to schedule regular breaks. Whenever you step away from a project, you can approach from a more objective, distant perspective when you come back.

另一种达到心理距离的方法是在你感到不知所措的时候切换到另一个项目，并安排有规律的休息。这样当你再回来看待原来的项目和问题时，你可以从一个更客观、更旁观者的角度来看待问题。

Best of all, combine all the ideas. Take a break, and then when you come back to the task, ask yourself how others would tackle the issue and consider it from alternative perspectives.

最重要的是，把所有的想法结合起来。休息一下，然后当你回到任务中的时候，问问自己其他人是如何处理这个问题的，并从不同的角度来思考问题。

Creativity ebbs and flows naturally during peak hours or the time of the day you’re most productive, which vary from person to person. Consistently trying to work against your natural clock and rhythm can mean consistently getting less done.

创造力一般出现在人们生产力最高的时段，这个时段因人而异。违背自己的生物钟和节奏最终只会导致生产力降低、创造力减弱。

For most people, high productivity hours take place in the morning, but this isn’t true for everyone. Research indicates that most people run in productivity cycles of 90 to 120 minutes that themselves happen throughout the 24-hour day—that is based on circadian rhythms. Almost no one focuses well for longer than 120 minutes; we need breaks.

对大多数人来说，高效的工作时间是在早上，但这不是对每个人都适用。研究表明，大多数人的工作周期是90到120分钟，这是基于24小时循环的，是基于昼夜节律的。几乎没有人能超过120分钟地长时间工作。我们需要休息。

You just need to find your own body’s cycles. A Life of Productivity author Chris Bailey recommends recording energy, focus, and motivation “scores” for yourself for three weeks to track your peak hours. Basically, you’ll rank your energy, focus, and motivation from 1 to 10 every hour for work hours, for about three weeks. Don’t overthink it.

你只需要找到你自己身体的循环。《生产力生命》一书的作者Chris Bailey建议用三个星期的时间来记录你的精力、注意力和动机“分数”来测算你在工作中的高峰时间。基本上来说，你需要在工作时间内，将每小时的精力、注意力和动力水平按照1-10的标准进行记录，连续记录三周。不要想太多，只要做好记录就可以了。

You can plot your scores on a chart to look for patterns, and write notes down when you think outside factors are having an impact (“got three hours’ sleep, barely functional” or “just had a venti coffee, feel awesome!”).

你可以在图表上标出你的分数来寻找规律，当你认为外部因素有影响时，将这些因素记录下来(“只睡了三个小时，几乎不能工作”或者“喝了杯超大杯咖啡，感觉棒极了!”)。

Once you know which hours are truly less productive for you, you can schedule administrative tasks like billing or responding to messages for those times and save bigger, thought-intensive projects for your peak hours.

一旦明白自己哪些时候是效率最低下的，你就可以将一些琐碎的工作安排在这个时间段中，比如支付账单或回复信息。将效率高、注意力集中、思想活跃的时间用于重要的工作当中。

Creative, non-linear thinkers can benefit from the right constraints, but not from micromanagement or too much restriction. It’s about finding the sweet spot.

创造性的、非线性的思考者可以从正确的约束中受益，微观管理或过多的限制并不能帮助提高创造力。这是关于如何寻找最佳界点的问题。

Constraints change the way we see the world around us, and the way we solve problems. Although it may intuitively seem like fewer rules equals more creativity, this isn’t actually the case. Researchers have found that people who have experienced having fewer resources tend to show more creativity in problem solving and think more expansively, because when resources are abundant, there’s less incentive to use things in innovative ways. This means that to some extent, creativity is situational, and can be cultivated.

约束改变了我们看待周围世界的方式，也改变了我们解决问题的方式。尽管直觉上看起来更少的规则意味着更多的创造力，但事实并非如此。研究人员发现，拥有较少资源的人在解决问题和思考问题时往往表现出更多的创造力，因为当资源丰富的时候，用创新的方式使用事物的动机就会减少。这意味着在某种程度上，创造力是情境性的，可以培养。

As an example, if you ask an architect to design a house without a budget or too many parameters, you will probably get a collage of nice ideas–some of their “greatest hits” thrown together in one generic house design. If you ask that architect to design that house within a budget, and according to some high-end green building specifications, chances are excellent that the design they produce will present you with a number of creative solutions–and probably a better design.

举个例子，如果你让一个建筑师设计一套没有预算或太多参数的房子，你可能会得到一个好点子的拼贴画——一些他们的“最伟大的作品”组合在一个普通的房子设计中。如果你要求建筑师在预算中设计房子，根据一些高端的绿色建筑规范，他们生产的设计很有可能会给你提供一些创造性的解决方案，而且可能是一个更好的设计。

Apply this in your own work by setting the bar high enough to really be a challenge and constrain you enough to produce better results–but not so high that you shut down the creative process.

在你自己的工作中应用这一点，把门槛设得足够高，以真正成为一个挑战，并以此约束你，以产生更好的结果——但不要目标太高，否则会直接扼杀创造过程。

Creativity loves the right neurochemical balance. To get your creative productivity flow going, you need serotonin and dopamine. So how do you optimize this neurochemical balance?

创造力喜欢正确的神经化学平衡。为了让你的创造力源源不断，你需要血清素和多巴胺。那么如何优化这种神经化学平衡呢?

One must is reducing stress. Stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol chase away the creativity-enhancing effects of serotonin. They also cause problems like higher blood pressure that detract from your brain’s overall ability to relax and focus on cognitive work.

人必须减少压力。应激激素，如肾上腺素和皮质醇，会消除血清素对创造力增强的作用，因而导致创造力下降。它们还会导致高血压等问题，从而降低大脑的整体放松能力，并将注意力集中在认知工作上。

As your body and mind divert energy and reserves into more vital areas, things like creative expression and production can suffer. When you’re under stress, you are less likely to be open to new ideas. When we are stressed, we prefer the familiar.

当你的身体和大脑把能量和储备转移到更重要的领域时，创造性表达和生产就会受到影响当你处于压力之下时，你就不太可能接受新思想。当我们感到压力时，我们更喜欢熟悉的事物。

For most people, serotonin levels are highest in the morning (but don’t forget to track yourself because everyone is different). When you’re feeling unusually cynical, depressed, craving sweets in an unusual amount, or feeling high levels of anxiety, chances are good that your serotonin levels are low. On the other hand, when you’re feeling confident, inspired, and energetic yet relaxed, you’re more likely to be in a good place with your serotonin.

对大多数人来说，血清素水平在早上是最高的(但别忘了跟踪你自己，因为每个人都不一样)。当你感到异乎寻常的愤世嫉俗、沮丧、对甜食的渴望达到不寻常的程度，或者感到高度焦虑时，你的血清素水平很低，这是很有可能的。另一方面，当你感到自信、受鼓舞、精力充沛的时候，你体内的血清素水平可能很高。

Maximize those times when you experience elevated levels of serotonin, whenever they are, by choosing high-protein, healthful foods to support brain function. As for coffee, if you’re already feeling great and productive, go ahead, enjoy another latte. If you are an anxious, hot mess, avoid that java, please. One last thing to remember is to get up and move, as aerobic exercise boosts creative potential.

当你的血清素水平升高时，最好选择高蛋白、健康的食物来支持大脑功能。至于咖啡，如果你感觉咖啡作用很好并且很有成效，那就去喝一杯拿铁吧。如果你觉得焦虑、混乱，那就不要使用了。最后一件要记住的事情是站起来运动，因为有氧运动可以提高创造力。

For more traditional thinkers, A always leads right to B, and then C, and so on. For creative thinkers, A might lead to B, and a host of other ideas, or it might not lead to B at all, and just hit that forest of alternative concepts instead. That’s why the results are perceived as “creative”–they’re unexpected.

对于更传统的思想家，A总是指向B，然后是C，等等。对于有创造力的思考者来说，A可能会导致B，还有很多其他的想法，或者它可能根本不会导致B。这就是为什么他们的结果被认为是“创造性的”——因为他们总是出人意料的。

If this is the way you think, you need to be able to work with tools that let you process things in ways that make sense to you. For example, mind mapping is a great tool for creative thinkers. This technique allows you to create a visual of wherever your mind takes you, bringing all of the great ideas you get along the way with you.

如果这是你的思维方式，你需要能够使用工具，让你以合理的方式处理事情。例如，思维导图是创造性思维者的一个伟大工具。这种技巧可以让你在脑海中勾勒出你想要的东西，带着你一路上所能想到的所有伟大的想法。

You can’t conjure creativity on a whim. What you can do, though, is use these five tips to foster creative thinking and enhance your creative output without losing focus and productivity. While some of us (myself included) will always be easily distracted by everything from social media to video games, learning how to focus creative energy puts you on the path to success. It’s your best shot at creating a masterpiece.

你不能凭一时心血来潮想出创意。然而，你能做的是利用这五个技巧来培养创造性思维，提高你的创造力，而不会失去注意力和生产力。虽然我们中的一些人(包括我自己)总是很容易被从社交媒体到视频游戏的各种事情分散注意力，但学习如何专注于创造力会让你走上成功之路。这是你创造杰作的最好机会。