In the book, our colleagues from around the world share stories about their own creative practices. We’ll feature a story or two on a regular basis here, beginning with incubation, something we all struggle to find the time to do.

During the incubation phase of the creative process, your unconscious mind combines new things you just recently learned with your existing body of broad knowledge. Your brain works to sift through all of that information and make larger meaning, to draw new connections. This is called associative thinking. You have to allow some room for your brain to do this work, though; it requires a quieted, unfocused mind. That means setting aside periods of time where you stop concentrating so hard and let your thoughts wander. Here’s the word from some of your colleagues about their incubation strategies:

I like to play guitar and get together with friends to…