Jennifer Bradley PhD

Career Transition Coaching and Consulting

  • Home
  • Is This You?
  • Free Stuff
    • Your Scorecard
    • Checklists & Worksheets
    • More Resources
    • Media
    • Job-seeker Tips
  • How I Work
    • Services
    • Privacy
  • About
  • Contact
  • Career Blog

Help your Brain to Be More Creative

2011-02-17 by Jennifer Bradley

TwitterFacebookGoogle+PinterestLinkedin

When More Effort is Not the Answer

Car wheel stuck in snow Making changes to your work and your life often involves new perspectives and creative approaches. By building periods of mental relaxation into your day, you can help your brain to help you.  

Focus and effort work for some types of problem. But for complex problems that require creativity and insight, quiet time is essential to help your brain function more effectively. Review your week to be sure it includes the mental relaxation that supports you to develop new insights.

Career & Work Life Matters 


ISSN 2150-6299

Vol 2, no. 2


If you’ve ever been stuck while driving in the snow, you’ll know that just putting your foot down probably won’t get you where you want to go. The more you accelerate the more you begin to hear the sound of spinning wheels. Sometimes a little extra speed will move you forward. But often, you will sink more deeply into the snow. The extra acceleration makes the wheels spin faster, but you remain stuck.
More effort isn’t always the answer. 

What do you typically do when you are faced with a difficult problem? Do you respond by making more effort? You may spend more time at work and more time thinking about the problem. Do you end up taking work home and giving up any free time?

Many of the problems we face in our work and our life are complex and can’t be solved through easy choices. Over time, just doing more and more leads to exhaustion and burnout.

In a recent article in Training + Development, David Rock (of the NeuroLeadership Institute) highlights the importance of deliberately building quiet time into each day.  Periods of mental relaxation are essential for solving complex problems because they support the way our brains work.

His research has shown that simple changes can lead to more creative problem solving. One key change is to include periods of mental relaxation in the day. As David Rock reminds us “our non-conscious processing resources are must larger than our conscious ones.”  Are you benefiting from this brain power? Your brain needs a break to function effectively.

What can you do to support creative problem solving by building quiet time into your day? This may require developing some new habits and changing some old ones. Here are some questions to consider.

  • What needs to be switched off to reduce the constant external stimulation?
  • When was the last time you felt mentally relaxed? Where were you and what were you doing?
  • What can you do to include opportunities for relaxation each day?

How will you give your brain a break? Share your comments below.


TwitterFacebookGoogle+PinterestLinkedin

Filed Under: Career & Work Life Matters Tagged With: change and creativity, creativity, insight, mental relaxation, problem solving

Ready for Career Change?

Try this Scorecard 

NO SPAM: You'll be asked to confirm your email address before your Scorecard can be sent.

Connect with Me

Google+ Page

ARTICLES: Career & Work Life Matters

  • How to Set Up your Career Change and Job Search for More Success and Less Stress
  • How to Reduce the Stress of Career Change and Job Search: 3 Steps to Better Support
  • 3 Simple Ways to Boost your Career Plans during the Holiday Season
  • How to Select the Right References for your Job Search Success: 3 essential steps for job seekers
  • Career Breaks, Work History and Resume Gaps: How to Prepare for a More Confident Job Search

© 2019 Jennifer Bradley & Career Options Coach · All Rights Reserved