Do you ever wonder how you came up with that genius idea? Follow these expert tips to spark breakthrough moments and make them more predictable in your day-to-day problem-solving.

2:00 min

Take a step back

In today’s hybrid work cultures, we carry many responsibilities from caretaker to provider. While troubleshooting through tasks and deadlines, we often fail to see the “forest through the trees” or the bigger picture. To make space for “aha” moments, we need to clear up the brain fog and take a step back to consider all the perspectives and variables. Doing so helps generate fresh ideas from a vantage point we hadn’t considered initially. Here are four ways to zoom out for a more significant impact.

Try mind-wandering

Studies show that when individuals are assigned an important task, incorporating “mind wandering” breaks unrelated to the original job at hand helps generate more creative solutions. Instead of staring at a computer screen for the great ideas to come, go for a 10-minute walk around the neighbourhood, read a few passages of an inspiring book, or map out the problem visually and try to connect the dots. For more suggestions, here are 12 unconventional ways to take mini breaks that foster creative discovery.

Filter out the bad

Wonderful “eureka” moments come from building upon good ideas. To separate the good ones from the bad, incorporate “design thinking” into your creative processes. This starts by identifying and understanding the human need (i.e., the end user’s wants, constraints and expectations) and coming up with solutions that best meet the demand. Here are six stages of design thinking to help guide your process to deliver more brilliant ideas.