Team submission for a crash course on creativity with Tina Seeling, Stanford University. December 2012

1. Sleepless in excitement
More than 100 ideas for the sleep
challenge of laying awake in anticipation

2. This exercise was submitted as a
TEAM assignment
(Dic 2012)
Denny Marta Mick Shin
California , US Madrid, Spain California, US Japan
A crash course on creativity with Prof Tina Seelig
Stanford University free online course

3. Our special sleepless problem
Denny: "I m excited about selling
our old house tomorrow"
Marta: "I m terribly excited about the
joy of tomorrow trip for my vacation"

4. Our special sleepless problem
Mick: "I m excited about tomorrow
since I ll start this fabulous new job"
Shin: "I m terribly excited thinking
about the family gathering of
tomorrow"

5. Our challenge:
It´s not
problems, worries or
difficulties that keep
us lying awake
thinking about them
in the middle of the
night.
Our big CHALLENGE is get our sleep in
situations of ANTICIPATED joy

6. We went on brainstorming...
Avoiding any of these
OBVIOUS ideas
1. Take a sleeping pill
2. Have a glass of milk
3. Watch TV
4. Have a warm bath
5. … or count sheep

7. The
environment
Spaces and things that
will relax your five
senses…

8. 1. Move to the guestroom
2. Move to the bathroom
3. Move to the living room
4. Move outside to a good hotel
5. Move outside to a tent in a camp
6. See everybody sleeping
7. Set a comfortable temperature in the room
8. Set air conditioning and humidity to feel comfortable in the room
9. Bush your teeth and use Listerine
10. Get a comfortable and touchy pyjama
11. Get a hearty electric blanket
12. Sleep in a soft sleeping bag
13. Sleep in a hammock
14. Sleep with soft and clean blankets (e.g. soft cotton)
15. Sleep in a good spring bed
16. Sleep with a comfortable pillow
17. Wrap yourself by the smell of candles
18. Wrap yourself by the smell of incense
19. Wrap yourself by the smell of aromatherapy
20. Wrap yourself by the smell of lavender

9. 21. Wrap yourself by the smell of fresh linen
22. Take a warm bath with essential oil
23. Take a warm bath for a long time
24. Darken the room and cover all digital lights
25. Sleep with eye covers
26. Use orange light in your bedroom
27. Use a calm colour in your bedroom wall and curtains
28. Take away the clock from your nightstand
29. Have someone sing your mom´s lullaby
30. Play a music box
31. Listen to the farthest sound you can hear
32. Play a record with nature sounds (river, rain, singing of insects, waves,
soft wind)
33. Play a record of classical music

10. Mind games
Playing with your
mind…

11. 34. Imagine yourself on a beach
35. Breath deeply & regularly, watch your body rise and fall
36. Breath deeply and focus on air entering and leaving nostrils
37. Do TM meditations
38. Do Dharma meditations
39. Count your breaths
40. Count numbers
41. Count stars
42. Repeat the alphabet backwards
43. Count backwards from 1000
44. Think of an animal for each letter of the alphabet
45. Pray
46. Be spiritually enlightened
47. Charm
48. Focus on one point
49. Dream good things
50. Use the awake time creatively

12. Your body
Things that will get you
tone down your mind in
the middle of night…

13. 51. Run around the block
52. Exercise
53. Do yoga
54. Doing pull ups with the bed
55. Doing pull ups with a chair
56. Get up for 30 min
57. Wiggle toes 12 times
58. Walk outside for 15 min
59. Walk around the house for 10 min
60. Walk the dog around the block
61. Do stretch exercise
62. Have sex alone
63. Have sex with your partner
64. Have sex with your partners
65. Yawn 3 times
66. Sleep with a stuffed toy
67. Sleep together with other members of your family
68. Sleep with you pet
69. Go and get a body massage
70. Go and get a foot massage

14. 71. Go and get a head massage
72. Go and get a hand massage
73. Have someone scratch your head
74. Relax and enjoy being awake

15. Food
Unwind from anticipation
with food..

16. 75. Drink camomile tea
76. Eat turkey
77. Eat a bowl of cereals
78. Eat miso soup
79. Eat a banana
80. Eat hard egg
81. Eat edamame
82. Eat cherries
83. Eat oatmeal
84. Eat almonds
85. Drink wine
86. Drink whisky
87. Drink vocka
88. Drink sake
89. Drink tequila
90. Drink rum or brandy in warm milk

17. Chores
Unwind from anticipation
doing chores in any place
of the house...

18. 91. Clean up the files in your computer
92. Check unpaid bills
93. Do the laundry (mind the noise)
94. Cook tomorrow´s lunch
95. Clean boardroom windows
96. Clean up your desk
97. Polish the floor as your grandma did
98. Review grandma´s recipes
99. Clean up the mess in the kitchen
100. Review your children´s homework
101. Look for something to entertain your dog in the morning
102. Watch your dog asleep
103. Watch the night through the window
104. Try get to page 50 of that boring book
105. Recall the most boring day in your life
106. Recall the most boring person you´ve ever met
107. Watch several episodes of Lost
108. Do crosswords
109. Write a diary
110. Draw a rework for the kitchen of your dreams

19. 111. Sort out the pillows in the bedroom by colors
112. Sort out the pillows in the bedroom by sizes
113. Sort out the pillows in the bedroom by type of fabric
114. Tag mentally the year you purchased every object in the bedroom
115. Sing a song

20. People &
places
Unwind thinking of the
people or places of what
you plan on doing next
day in a different way…

21. 116. Recall the first time you´ve met those people
117. Recall what you first thought of them
118. Recall what who of them you liked the most
119. Think who of them has disappointed you the most
120. Think who of them has become your best friend
121. Bake cookies with the initials of your people you´ll see tomorrow on it
122. Choose a scent for the place you´ll be visiting
123. Make a list of activities you´d ever do with that people
124. Make a list of activities you´d ever do in that place
125. Try to guess the favourite color of each person
126. Pick up old pics from your albums
127. Review last pics from that place or people in your PC
128. Choose the songs that best represent that place or people
129. Allow yourself some fun mimicking the gestures of that person
130. Pair people in pairs according mentally or making notes about them
131. Rank that place among other places
132. Rank that people among other people you know
133. Think which person you´d take to an isolated island
134. Think which person you could lend money from
135. Describe what you like the most of that place

22. Hello?? Anybody there??
I m still counting…

24. Credits
Photos:
“Entusiasmo”: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saulocruz/8207698481/
Women rocking out in bus, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideasgraficas/2570573841/
Idea: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonydowler/51722696/in/photostream/
“Trashumancia en Madrid”: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginsumica/4043803247/
“2 ovejas”: http://www.flickr.com/photos/depredator007/2101722460/
“Durmiendo”: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10076320@N04/865897672/