2016 Annual Conference

We are continually bombarded with stimuli at work and during our leisure time, allowing little opportunity for boredom. Recent research suggests this leads to a lack of creativity and diminishes our problem-solving abilities. This session will discuss this phenomena; participants will be invited to share their challenges and potential solutions.

This session can be applied to conference participants from various environments. As work places face financial challenges, as many have in recent years, we are all given more work to do. In addition, we are often connected to our work places through email, cell phones and social media even when we are not physically at work. This leaves minimal time to relax, reflect and simply let our minds wander.This session will focus on how reducing stimuli can increase our creativity and problem-solving abilities.

This session is of personal significance to me. As an administrator at a public university in Illinois, I have seen how the lack of funding has impacted our work force. As positions have been cut, and the remaining employees have been required to take on additional responsibilities, there has been little opportunity for us to relax and renew ourselves. As this continues, I have seen a lack of creativity and a drop in our problem-solving abilities. This led to my interest in examining the research in the area. Using this knowledge, I attempted to provide opportunities for my colleagues and me to engage in some mindless activities that allowed our minds to slow down. Rather than being what some would consider a waste of time, this led to clearer thinking and increased problem-solving. I know that many work places face the same challenges. Even without a drastic reduction in funding, we are all constantly bombarded with matters that demand our attention.