N THIS LESSON: Learn how to "stack" habits and triggers to make creativity effortless. This method helps you build momentum and consistency in your creative practice.
Emma had hit a wall on her medical device team's wound-care product after six months of unsuccessful development.
One morning, a flooded basement forced her to work from her sunroom. Surrounded by plants and natural light, she absently sketched during a conference call. When the call ended, she looked down to find she'd drawn something revolutionary—a layered structure using materials they hadn't considered.
Intrigued, Emma began noticing patterns in when and where her best ideas emerged. Natural light and plants helped her think about organic structures. Walking winding paths connected seemingly unrelated concepts. Conversations with her friend in textile manufacturing sparked cross-industry insights.
She deliberately incorporated these creativity triggers into her work routine: scheduling brainstorming in the company atrium, taking walking meetings on curved paths instead of sitting in conference rooms, and organizing lunches with colleagues from different departments.
Within three months, her team developed a breakthrough prototype using an innovative layered material inspired by textile manufacturing. When asked about her success at the company innovation awards, Emma explained, "Innovation isn't just about working harder on a problem. It's about recognizing the specific environments, stimuli, and interactions that trigger your most creative thinking."
The company adopted "trigger mapping" as part of their innovation methodology, increasing new product submissions by 40% the following year—all because Emma noticed what happened when a flooded basement led to an unexpected change in environment.
Two key insights from Emma's story:
Innovation often emerges from environmental changes rather than harder thinking - Emma's breakthrough didn't come from doubling down on her usual approach but from the unexpected change in her environment. This suggests that creativity can be unlocked by deliberately changing our surroundings rather than just trying harder with the same approach.
Personal creativity triggers are identifiable and replicable - A Trigger Is a specific cue that initiates your ritual, in this case creation. Emma discovered specific conditions that consistently sparked her creative thinking (natural light, plants, winding paths, cross-industry conversations) and was able to deliberately incorporate these elements to produce innovation on demand. This indicates that creativity isn't random but can be systematically cultivated through personalized triggers.
Exercise: Please complete the creative trigger stacking activity below.
Take Away: Innovation doesn't happen by chance or through sheer effort alone, but emerges when we identify and deliberately incorporate our personal "creativity triggers" into our work process.
