When my sons were little and I had a project deadline but no babysitter, we’d head to Chuck E. Cheese. I can hear a collective groan from parents everywhere, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
They stamped our hands at the front door and then my kids would play games for at least an hour. They were safe — the checkout system there is like Ft. Knox — so I could work on projects and still see my kids from my table.
Not everyone can work with kids screaming in the background, music blasting from the machines and Chuck’s mechanical friends singing remakes of old classics. But a trip to the local arcade, noisy coffee shop or even a crowded airport, may improve your creativity.
In the Wall Street Journal article, “Bother me, I’m thinking,” Jonah Lehrer describes two studies by researchers at different universities. They found that distractions could help you be more creative. The studies also show that “People who daydream more are also better at generating new ideas.”
These results may not to apply to everyone, but for some, being distracted can be a good thing.
I have a few project deadlines coming up but my kids outgrew Chuck E. Cheese years ago. I do have a niece, though, who loves to go there.
Can you work with the TV on or with music playing in the background? Or do you have to work in a home office that’s perfectly quiet?
I have a home office for my day job and a studio for my small business. For both, I prefer to have the radio going. If I need to change my ambiance a little then I grab my laptop and head over to Panera. Going there gives a little boost in productivity that I need since sitting in same environment day and night can get to me. I have found it’s difficult to work when it’s perfectly quiet so I tend to have my iPhone and earbuds handy;)
That sounds like a great way to stay motivated and productive!