FREELANCERS UNION BLOG

  • Advice

Don't Sleep on Dreaming

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming after all, is a form of planning.” - Gloria Steinem

Your dreams can provide more than a break for your busy brain; they might give you the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. Studies have shown that REM sleep improves one’s ability to see connections among seemingly unrelated things, which is one of the cornerstones of being creative.

Creativity isn’t just for those we traditionally see as “creative” either. It’s a skill everyone possesses that can be improved and utilized in a variety of well, creative ways. The process that allows a graphic designer to create awesome logos or web pages is the same for a lawyer constructing a great opening or closing argument for their client.

If it wasn’t for dreams we wouldn’t have the sewing machine, James Cameron's Terminator, or the the the theory of relativity, so keep that in mind when you have a conundrum that requires a creative approach.

1) Wrestle with the problem. Have a brief intense struggle with your problem. Get sufficiently frustrated. Then...

2) Sleep on it.** **Decide to put the problem aside and create a dormant period with no further conscious work it by resting (this is also known as ‘letting your subconscious marinate your problems in awesomesauce’).

3) See the light at the end of the tunnel. Watch as a flash of inspiration hits you while you’re dreaming or engaged in idle thought (otherwise known as ‘day dreaming’).

Dream on you dreamers!