Have you ever found yourself stuck in a creative rut when you're jamming like hell on a particular idea project, unable to generate new ideas? According to a recent study by Jackson G. Lu, Modupe Akinola, and Malia Mason at Columbia Business School, switching back and forth from one creative task to another can actually increase creativity by reducing a thing called “cognitive fixation.”

Methodology:

The researchers recruited 80 participants to take part in a series of creativity tasks. The participants were divided into two groups: one group was asked to switch between two different types of creative tasks, while the other group focused entirely on one.

Results:

The researchers found that participants who switched between two different types of creative tasks were more likely to generate a higher number of unique and innovative ideas compared to those who completed only one type of creative task. Additionally (and not insignificantly to me), the participants who switched between tasks reported feeling less mentally exhausted than those who completed only one type of task.

What is going on here?

researcher's Conclusions and Analysis:

The authors of the study suggest that switching between tasks can reduce cognitive fixation, which is the tendency to become fixated on one approach or solution to a problem. Also known as overthinking. When we switch between tasks, we are forced to adapt to new situations and think flexibly, which can lead to new and creative connections being made. Additionally, switching between tasks can prevent us from becoming mentally exhausted and allow us to maintain our focus and energy for longer periods of time.

One project can be soul sucking. More than one can be soul building.

Implications for the business of creativity:

1. Freelancers rejoice. Freelancers shouldn’t feel guilty working on multiple projects from multiple clients at a time. Nor should clients expect freelancers to focus solely on their idea project. Bouncing back and forth between projects actually improves creative performance on both. It’s all about reducing cognitive fixation (overthinking) and increasing the ability to generate new and innovative ideas.

2. Dual-brainstorms. No more slog brainstorms on one topic. I could see companies who regularly schedule brainstorm meetings start to schedule them two at a time. Project A could be in one room, Project B in another. Spend 30 minutes working on Project A, then 30 on Project B. Same team for both. Different snacks in each room, of course.

3. Ideasicle Experts keep doing what you’re doing. At Ideasicle X we intuitively had been encouraging our Ideasicle Experts to work on more than one idea project at a time and now this study provides evidence in support.

While I do admit the finding of less exhaustion when juggling more than one creative task surprised me, I was not terribly surprised at the resulting increase in quality of output and creative productivity. The more chances for thought collisions, the better. Multiple idea projects means more thoughts swirling around ready to collide.

Creativity is so amorphous and intangible, I do love it when science can give us firm ground on which to stand when it comes to more and better ideas.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Will Burns is an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. And he is currently the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post.