Creativity Improvement: Input - Throughput - Output
The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity.
Questions Before Answers
What is a shooting thought?
How can I instantly capture shooting thoughts?
How can I become more creative by creating shooting thoughts?
What is an example of using the Input-Throughput-Output system?
How To Create And Catch Your Shooting Thoughts
Important Things First - What Is A Shooting Thought? Shooting thoughts are like shooting stars in our minds. They tend to be brief and will often spark insights and brilliant ideas. They occur unexpectedly and are usually unrelated to our current activities, work, or thoughts.
Have you ever had a brilliant idea that you only saw vanish in just a few seconds?
Have you ever wondered how you can capture and create a shooting thought?
Input-Throughput-Output Overview: This essay introduces a simple system: Input-Throughput-Output. This strategy will show how to generate ideas and provide a method for capturing fleeting thoughts and insights.
How I Use The Input-Throughput-Output Method: I go for a morning walk daily with a playlist ready to listen to.
A fleeting thought can illuminate the darkest mind.
What Are The Two Secrets To Catching A Shooting Thought? The first secret is awareness, and the second is to capture it immediately!
Forewarned Before Forearmed: Understanding the Input-Throughput-Output system allows you to be forearmed, so you are always ready for unexpected insights.
If you don't execute a great idea, it dies.
How to Catch the Fireworks of Creativity: Keep your Google Docs open on your smartphone or computer. I also keep several spiraled 4x6 notecards, with a pen attached, at various places in my home and car—just in case.
Ready Or Not, Ideas Happen: Readiness and execution are the keys to catching shooting thoughts. When encountering something intriguing, informative, or insightful, immediately record your thoughts in a designated Google document.
Discussion Of Each Input-Throughput-Output Element: Let's explore the components and understand their integration using an auditory input. Of course, this approach can also apply when you read or watch your input source.
What Is An Overview Example Of The Input-Throughput-Output System? Assume you are curious about the topic of willpower. Here are the steps:
The best way to have an excellent new idea is to have lots of new ideas.
Input—Priming Your Mind: Instead of waiting for the storm, what if you could create the storm?
"Yesterday, fear whispered in my ear, 'You are not strong enough to withstand my storm.' Today, I whispered in fear's ear, 'I am the storm.'"
Input—Be The Storm: Your journey begins with input. Think of this as the raw material for your creative process. First, select a focal point — in this example, willpower — and assemble various resources around this topic. Then, fully immerse yourself in relevant audio content from platforms like YouTube, Audible, podcasts, TED Talks, and more.
Creativity is connecting the unconnected.
Throughput—The Brainstorm: Throughput is where the magic happens. It's not just about passively absorbing information but actively engaging emotionally and cognitively. When you listen to the audio, your mind coalesces, organizes, and synthesizes this new information with your existing knowledge and wisdom. You process the new information and look for understanding and connections.
Input is asking why; output is asking why not.
Output—Raining Creativity: The key to improving your comprehension is synthesizing, exploring, and understanding your learning. If an author says, "These are the five steps to willpower," many people will copy the steps verbatim. However, if you can process, interpret, and enhance the five steps, it will have more meaning and impact for you.
Input is the toolbox. Output is what you build with it.
However, you have considered implications, associations, and interactions during your throughput phase. Now, you can voice-record your newly recognized ideas into an open Google Doc (or similar) file.
What Is A Detailed Practical Example Of The Input-Throughput-Output System? I will share how I use the Input-Throughput-Output system on my morning walk. I will discuss how I selected my resources, why I go both deep and wide, and how I capture my shooting thoughts.
Deep-Wide-Deep: I will discuss three input levels:
Deep: Going deep involves exploring comprehensive resources like audiobooks, TED Talks, and lectures.
Wide: Explore various supporting and counter perspectives through podcasts, interviews, and lectures.
Deep Again: Going deep again provides more reinforcement.
Input Part 1—Deep: Once you have selected a topic (again using the willpower example), I will dive deep.
How Deep Is Your Quest? Depending on your interest, availability of time, and other constraints you have, you can delve deep in two ways:
Investigative: deep as in investigative (a few selected podcasts, YouTube videos, TED Talk videos, etc.). Imagine a three-page book report.
Thorough: in-depth research (Audible, many podcasts, TED Talk, and YouTube videos, etc.). Imagine a comprehensive term paper.
I generally start with the investigative level.
Willpower—An Investigative Example: I frequently listen to TED Talks. For example, Stanford psychologist Kelly McGonigal describes the biggest myths of willpower and how rethinking self-control can help you reach your goals and make difficult changes.
If I want to learn and understand more, I will progress to the thorough research model.
Willpower—A Thorough Example: I start by using Audible to find books about willpower. I chose Audible because I wanted to understand the subject thoroughly. I found several books with great reviews; each audiobook was about 5-9 hours long. Since I listen to these resources for about an hour a day while walking, this gives me a solid understanding in just a week or two.
I identified these two willpower books:
Title: Willpower — Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
Author: Roy F. Baumeister, John Tierney
Title: The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
Author: Dr. Kelly McGonigal
(These two links contain an affiliate link, which may result in a paltry commission.)
I chose the McGonigal book and became so interested that I later listened to the Baumeister book.
Input—Why Do I 'Go Deep' First? The author, Kelly McGonigal, has a Ph.D. from Stanford and has been featured in TED Talks. What better place to start? I wanted to hear her analysis and understanding of willpower from the basics to validating and research studies. Being thorough provides a broad framework and knowledge.
Input Part 2—Wide: After my thorough plunge, I became conversant on willpower and expanded my knowledge.
I next go 'wide' on the author and on the topic. Going wide incorporates the concepts of deliberate practice. Deliberate practice involves structured and focused efforts to improve performance by targeting weaknesses and pushing the boundaries of one's current abilities.
Going Wide—The Author: Next, I go to YouTube and find 10+ podcasts and lectures with the author of the Audible book.
Why So Many Author Interviews? I select at least ten videos because interviewers or podcast hosts will ask different questions. Additionally, the author may give longer or more thorough answers or use other examples. This enhances my knowledge and understanding.
Going Wide—The Topic: Next, I search for directly tangential information on willpower, such as TED Talk lectures, college professors, and other notable experts in the willpower field.
Why Go Wide? Different experts will have different opinions, theories, beliefs, and ideas. I want to challenge what I learned by going deep and augmenting my knowledge.
Curiosity is the spark; creativity is the fuel; repetition is the fire.
Input Part 3—Go Deep Again. I Listen To The Audible Book Again: This step is based on spaced repetition. Spaced repetition is a learning technique that involves reviewing and revisiting information at specific intervals over time. The main idea behind spaced repetition is to assist in long-term memory retention. It is based on the observation that the brain remembers information better when it is encountered repeatedly at spaced intervals rather than in rapid succession. This second listening employs the learning technique that involves reviewing information at various intervals over time to enhance long-term retention and understanding.
Input Tip: If you are interested but short on time, revisit your most thought-provoking chapter or listen to the most insightful TED talk.
Why? I Repeat — Why? When I listened for the second time, I always heard perspectives I either missed or didn't understand enough to comprehend their context.
Throughput (Thinking): Throughput continually occurs as I listen to the audio. I merge, organize, and synthesize this new information with my existing knowledge and wisdom.
Output—Capturing Lightning In Your Mind: I will pause the audio source and record my thoughts when I hear something interesting and think about it.
Output—Why Synthesize? Many evidence-based studies have concluded that summarizing and synthesizing your output is better than taking verbatim notes. Here are two examples:
In 2014, author Michael C. Friedman's research in "Notes on Note-Taking: Review of Research and Insights for Students and Instructors" found that students who used summarizing and rephrasing notes in their own words improved understanding and retention. Verbatim note-taking is less effective for long-term learning.
In 1972, Authors Di Vesta and Gray's paper on "The Effects of Note-Taking and Review on Recall" determined that students who synthesize and rephrase their notes perform better on recall tasks than those who take notes verbatim.
Conclusion—Mastering the Art of Shooting Thoughts: The Input-Throughput-Output system is a powerful method and system for generating and capturing creative thoughts. By immersing yourself in varied and deep content, processing it actively, and recording your insights immediately, you can transform fleeting thoughts into moments of brilliance.
Thoughtercise: Here is a thought exercise tailored to implement the Input-Throughput-Output system. Consider the following quote and then create multiple options for each element.
When faced with a challenge, consider all paths: over, under, around, and through.
What Next? How To Implement And Apply:
Here is just one example. Can a stroll on your favorite beach result in your next creative breakthrough? Discover the simple, insightful, step-by-step process for harnessing the power of your favorite beach and the secrets to capturing your brilliant yet fleeting thoughts and ideas while enjoying the ocean and the sun.
Your Thoughts May Vary: Thought Improvement welcomes your constructive appreciation comments and invites you to share your perspectives, ideas, and suggestions. Together, we can all improve our thoughts.
Click here for our Disclaimers, Disclosures, Disavowals, And Declarations (aka - I told you so).