Move and Groove 58 - Novelty

I took my son and his cousins climbing over the holiday break. We did some bouldering, set up a top rope, climbed an awesome crack, and everyone got to learn how to belay. I had a meeting on the second day and still wanted to climb. So, I set up a desk, chair, Starlink, and laptop right behind a Joshua Tree (for shade) so I could watch them climb. It sparked an awesome conversation with my workmates and was one of the nicest views from any office I have ever had!

I am experimenting with novel environments lately and feel more creative and productive. Something about my home office is wearing me down. I miss having an office to go to and people to talk to. The change of scenery is giving me energy and curiosity. Turns out there is an interesting connection between novel environments and innovative thinking.

Neuroscience Nugget

When you enter a new environment, your brain's hippocampus goes into overdrive, creating new neural pathways as it maps unfamiliar territory. This heightened neural activity is intended to help you navigate. It also turns out that it can enhance creativity.

Ritter et al. (2012) demonstrated that people who experienced unexpected and unusual environmental changes showed significantly enhanced cognitive flexibility compared to those who remained in predictable environments.

The researchers found that making simple environmental changes led to improved creative thinking and problem-solving abilities. The unusual experiences didn't need to be positive to enhance creativity, they just needed to break expected patterns of thinking.

Pep Talk

Your brain craves novelty, and it rewards you with creativity when you feed it. The changes don't have to be radical (like the desk in the desert). The changes can be as simple as a new plant in your office or a different angle to your desk.

Try this move this week... Create a "novelty rotation" for your work locations. Map out three new spots you can work from (a different floor in your building, a nearby library, a park picnic table), and rotate through them when you need creative breakthrough.

The key is to make the environment novel enough to trigger your hippocampus but comfortable enough to focus.

For tackling big creative challenges:

• Day 1: Familiar office (baseline work)
• Day 2: New environment (ideation phase)
• Day 3: Another new spot (development phase)
• Day 4: Back to office (implementation with fresh perspective)

Your brain benefits from new patterns and perspectives. Every time you put yourself in a novel environment, you're literally building new neural pathways that can connect ideas in unexpected ways.

Keep moving, keep grooving, and keep changing your scenery! Your next big idea is waiting in an unexpected place.

Be well,

Eric

P.S. Enjoy these resources on your journey:

• Winning at Work - our signature course on doing your best work, while feeling great at the same time. Access the promotion and get $300 off, 1 hour coaching, and surprise bonuses.
• Be Well Mind - blogs on neuroscience, sports science, and performance.
• Schedule a free call - enjoy a powerful one hour coaching session for free.
• Group Flow Checklist - improve your team's ability to enter group flow for more productivity, innovation, and joy.
• Friday Afternoon Strategy Hack - when your competition is choosing where to go for happy hour, outmaneuver them with this strategic tool.
• Calendar Coding Exercise - use this to see where you are actually spending your time and adjust to where you should be spending your time, with visual indication of success.