Get Outside

A testament to literal and metaphorical fresh air for creative thinking.

I could start by rattling off a myriad of scientific evidence that supports the act of getting outside to clear the cobwebs. But it should be no surprise that the old nagging voice of our mothers to put down the Nintendo and get some fresh air has further implications from a proverbial standpoint than a neurological one.

When I first began working as a designer and I would get stuck, I felt the need to conform to what I noticed around me: heads down, cranking out work, scrapping ideas, starting over?—?but essentially staying glued to the machine that made the things while racing against the clock on the wall. Maybe it’s my knack for cabin fever, or an early inkling for enjoying the outdoors as a child, but that stuck to the seat methodology has never produced results for me. Over the years, I’ve come to visualize this moment in my mind as a big red ‘Reset’ button. When it’s time for a new point of view, getting outside your space, your mind, or your comfort zone can help create a flow of ideas. Let’s start with the confines of your cubicle.

Get Outside Your Space

For me, the first step is picking a destination that is reachable within your timeframe. Making it to a National Park on a 30 minute lunch break might not be the wisest choice. Going to a local record store, on the other hand is doable and has its’ own merits. I’ve had countless impromptu solo missions to antique shops, record stores, museums, coffee shops where I’ve picked up on the smallest details and biggest pockets of inspiration. The walk to and from wherever you’re going is part of the exercise as well?—?I’ve noticed buildings tucked away with the most incredible engraved type, grids and patterns in brickwork, distinct sounds of interactive objects like crosswalk buttons– the idea is to be sensorially observant at all times in a state of what scientists call ‘soft fascination’.

I come back to record shops as a point, because I love music and how it relates to design. Flipping through old album covers gives me the visual payoff, while the act itself is calming and promotes the act of doing nothing. It’s a full sensory experience. Which might sound counterintuitive on paper, but that’s exactly the point. Do nothing. Take in the world and process it with fresh eyes. Don’t make decisions about it, just fill up that brain with beautiful work, interesting stories, and weird old out of print logos, type, compositions–it might give you the glimpse of gold you’re looking for.

“I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day’s work.”

— Frank Lloyd Wright

If you’re fortunate enough to plan your own creative sabbatical, nothing beats actual time in the great outdoors. Fresh air in nature is the ideal location for hitting the reset button, breathing differently, and self-reflecting. Fortunately we live in a part of the world where National Parks and conservation areas are somewhat protected, but still wild enough to detach ourselves. When you’re embedded in nature, the impact and immensity of taking something in that is typically mundane and allows you to truly observe the splendour of design in the natural world. Having your mind blown by seemingly normal things is always beneficial in my book.

Look up and out at the world, as opposed to down and in. It’s interesting what your mind will see.

Stepping outside can happen on an even smaller scale as well. Be mindful the next time you get up and out the door for work. Put your phone away, take a different route, and look up and out at the world as opposed to down and in. Say hello to people. At the very least, observe their faces and take a guess at who they are, or what their story might be. It’s interesting what your mind will see in the mundane. Routine is a contributing factor in the slow but painful death of creativity?—?try to avoid it.

Get Outside Your Mind (…Man.)

I would like to say that hitting acid and camping out at Joshua Tree is my advice, but it isn’t. You should do that. But you should also consider your daily headspace as well, outside of mind altering substances.

In other words, getting outside your mind is the active practice of empathy. It’s going to sound really odd and uncomfortable, but imagining yourself acting as someone else in any day to day situation helps to cast a wider view of how people see the world. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend a user experience workshop hosted by UK product design agency Beyond. There was a group that focused on user experience as it related to people with autism. Until then, I had no real understanding of how their perceptions?—?both visual and audible, were so much different than I had imagined. I had my own perceptions of what autism meant, through my own lens, but I had yet to actually experience it. But it was only until I saw first hand what they experienced through simulation that it made profound sense. In simple terms, put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Get Outside Your Comfort Zone

I remember distinctly the first time I ate sushi. I was 25 years old. I was terrified. In my mind, I had relegated sushi as a form of disgusting Fear Factor challenge that had no redeeming taste, and really only served as a pretentious level of delicacy.

The scenario was a post-meeting lunch with a client and my superiors. I was younger, more inexperienced and felt the need to fit in at the the big kids table by jumping in and taking a bite without thought. Something strange happened immediately. I loved it. I was hooked. The texture. The taste. The presentation. And the thing is?—?I didn’t think about it, I just enjoyed it. That was a simple but important lesson in not relying on your ideas of good/bad/gross, but rather jumping in without thought, and experiencing something at a base level.

In other ways, think about your comfort zone as the place where you decide between yes and no. Every once in a while, tease in the opposite of what you’re comfortable with, just to see how it feels.

They might be linked to early psychopathic behavioural therapy, but I believe in the cold shower exercise as well. Next time you’re set to shower, instead of running that perfectly warm and enjoyable temperature, turn it all the way cold. Freezing cold. This works in a really interesting way. Telling your brain to do the opposite of what you would normally do, then experiencing the cold water on your skin, and understanding how you wash your body differently or faster, to how you feel after the shower is over. It’s important to note how the single decision to go the opposite way has a domino effect on your mind and body. It’s amazing, and I urge you to try it once, if not once a week.

Getting outside isn’t a literal call to action, it’s more a way of thinking. The simplest thing you can do is take the first step, literally or figuratively, in seeing the world and how you approach challenges from a new perspective. The confines of your physical space will inevitably influence your headspace, so it’s important to bring in as much of that fresh air as well. I love plants for this reason?—?fresh oxygen, they look great, and they remind me that there are things growing and building outside while I’m staring at a screen.

Having a balanced relationship between working, not working, processing the world, being inspired, being uncomfortable, and getting your hands dirty are all things that promote fluid thinking. There are no walls outside, only open space. Drop some acid and let that sink in.

To learn more about the author visit leeevon.com