How to Think Outside the Box with 3 Creativity Exercises | eHow.com

I especially like No. 2 of the exercises described in this article. It's one to do while waiting for something else to happen--to keep your mind active in those boring, unproductive moments, like sitting in a doctor's waiting room, riding the bus or train, boiling water, even watching TV (commercials).

Here's Creative Exercise Two:

Pick up a book, close your eyes, open it to a random page, and stab your finger at the page. Look and see which word your finger landed on. If you don't like the word, you get one do-over. Now get a paper and pen or pencil, or type at your computer, and come up with 25 ways that word relates to your life. If that's too easy, make it 50.

The blogger describes the point of this exercise:

When you do this exercise, you will come up with a few items right away. ... Think outside the box. When you get through that wall, those new ideas will come easier. You'll come up with things you never thought of before.

________
This item is featured today, Nov. 30, in my daily online paper, Garbl's Creativity Connections--available at the Creativity tab above and by free email subscription.