My life as a paperclip...

One of the most fundamental ways of being creative is the ability to see situations from different points of view, through a different set of senses.

A simple way to do this is with the following exercise -

Pick a random object in your room. It could be a cup, a paperclip, a chair, anything that's relatively close to hand and that draws you in some way at this precise moment.

Choose something quickly without analysing your decision.

Now, imagine spending a day in the life of this object.

Beginning with early morning, write out, or just imagine in your mind, how it feels to be this object.

Experience the object's viewpoint, see things from its perspective in as detailed a way as you possibly can.

For example if you chose a paperclip, imagine how it feels to be picked up by a human hand, the warmth of flesh against your cool steel.

Or how it feels as you slide down crisp white pages of paper, the sound it makes and the friction it generates.

Get into the senses of the object as deeply as possibly and consider all the activities and situations the object may experience in a typical day.

The more you can do this for a variety of objects, the more you'll open up your senses to different possibilities and this in turn, will fuel an increase in your creativity...