One of the few things I miss about my activity tracker from my 10,000-steps-a-day experiment is its vibration alarm. Whenever I hadn’t moved in an hour, it would buzz on my arm, reminding me to get up. It would even follow up every 15 minutes if I stayed still. What a great invention!
Of course, as with everything, you get used to it. Still, each humming was a chance to change position and get my blood flowing—and, as it turned out, my thoughts. I would rise from sitting cross-legged, and sure, stretching my legs was nice, but you know what was even better? Finally figuring out the next sentence to write. “Wow! I got up, and, suddenly, I had an idea! What’s that about?”
It’s one thing to read in a Stanford study that “walking boosts creative ideation in real time and shortly after,” but it’s another to experience it—especially when all you’ve done is lift your butt off your couch. Who knew? Changing your position also works in small doses.
It’s been a minute since I had a smart device on my arm, but lately, I’m doing a decent job at remembering to move even without one. That’s because I found a new trigger: When I hit a mental wall, I change physical position. If creative breakthroughs can be made more reliably by squatting, dancing, or shadowboxing for a few seconds, I’ll gladly look silly for a few seconds on a recurring basis.
I don’t manage to do it every time, of course. Sometimes, I still stew in a question for too long before shifting gears. But changing position has been a fantastic—and endlessly fascinating—addition to my creative arsenal. I hope I can remember to remember it.
The next time you’re stumped, swing your legs. Finding the angle you need is usually a matter of changing your perspective—and often, the easiest way to do that is to change your position.