15 Minutes of Foolery—Part Two

Before you read this, read Part One.

Good.

So, you just woke up. Do what you need to do. Fantastic. Let's begin:

1. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
2. Choose a simple problem. Maybe an object will inspire you. It's not so important what you pick.
3. Think foolishly to find a bunch of solutions. This is a 15 minute break from censoring yourself.
4. Set a goal for how many you will come up with in this time period. Make a list of your foolutions. I try to write down at least 10. If I have more time, I keep going.
5. Stuck? Pick a prompt from How to Think Like a Fool in 60 Ways. That's why I collected them.
6. This can be done on paper, in your head, or in action, or a combination of all three. Play around. Fool around. 10 bad ideas could lead to a great one.

Try this out, personalizing the structure as you like. Tomorrow, I'll give an example of one of my own 15 Minutes of Foolery.

15 Minutes of Foolery—Part One

You may not believe this, but I'm not a fool 24/7. Often it takes effort and practice just to come up with something stupid. A foolish mindset needs reawakened, especially when I'm between creative projects or simply procrastinating.

One technique I use is to start the day with 15 minutes of creative problem solving—thinking foolishly! Creative coach Eric Maisel suggests that artists show up to their creative work first thing in the morning:

The main daily practice is waking up each morning and turning right to your creative work. That way you get to make use of your sleep thinking and create some meaning first thing—and the rest of the day can be half-meaningless and you won’t mind so much! Getting to the creating first thing every day is THE practice.
—Eric Maisel interview

But this doesn't always work for me. When I'm in the middle of a project, I usually know what to do next. Other times I need to start with an exercise to develop those foolish mind muscles. 15 minutes seems doable and not as overwhelming as, “rehearse for 3 hours.”

Without my explaining more, this may be enough for you: start your day practicing foolish thinking for 15 minutes. Your inner-critic is half-asleep then. Take advantage of your freedom. Ignore objections that you can't function without coffee/breakfast/emails first.

How can you think foolishly for 15 minutes first thing in the morning?

If you need some more structure, tomorrow I'll continue with one of the ways I use that 15 minutes.

Return of the Fool

I'm starting this blog up again soon. Stay tuned!

Free Workshop in Baltimore

Baltimore area performers: I'm doing a free How To Think Like a Fool master class tonight at the Baltimore Theatre Project, 7-9:30PM (March 28).