Creativity Researcher Teresa Amabile Explains The Unexpected Benefits Of Tracking Daily Progress

It turns out that taking just five minutes a day to document your work progress and feelings can have a powerful impact. After analyzing over 238 diaries from happy workers, Teresa Amabile, at the 99u Conference, shares key takeaways for staying motivated at work, including the importance of measuring progress, documenting challenges, and taking time to reflect.

Teresa Amabile is a professor and director of research at Harvard Business School, and coauthor of The Progress Principle. A psychologist, Teresa studies how everyday work life can influence people and their performance. Her research encompasses creativity, productivity, innovation, and inner work life — the confluence of emotions, perceptions, and motivation that people experience as they react to events at work.

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Creativity Top 5: September 18, 2012

The Facebook History Timelines are an inspired idea. ​

Choreographer Wayne McGregor: Dance, Physical Thinking & Misbehaving Beautifully

We all use our body on a daily basis, and yet few of us think about our physicality the way Wayne McGregor does. He demonstrates how a choreographer communicates ideas to an audience, working with two dancers to build phrases of dance, live and unscripted, on the TEDGlobal stage.

A great addition to our collection of Dance related TED Talks. Don't miss the follow up post on the TED blog where he gives tips for thinking like a dancer. Below you can see McGregor and DJ/Producer Mark Ronson discuss their unique collaboration at Royal Ballet LIVE - a day of live streamed events from The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

And lastly, support dance and dancers, go see live dance. ​

Creativity Top 5: September 10, 2012

Absolutely (ahem) love #2 this week. What do you ​do after years of using your advertising to celebrate moments in culture? You turn yourself into a work of art and celebrate your Absolut Uniqueness. 

Paula Scher: Once you know what you're doing, it's not as good

Sometimes you have to ignore the brief, says renowned designer and artist Paula Scher. With a dry wit, Scher takes us behind-the-scenes on four landmark projects -- from revamping MoMA's identity to reinvigorating a Pittsburgh neighborhood through design -- to illustrate how asking questions, pushing into uncharted territory, and doing something you've never done before leads to great work.

​I love the work of Paula Scher. She has created some of my favorite arts marketing identities, including this poster that actually made me stop my hustled walk towards the subway so I could stare at it for a little while:

In this talk, from this year's 99u conference, ​she continues to explore themes she's shared before. In the talk, as in the past, she discusses failure, demonstrates those things that they don't teach you in design school and displays her love for typography. For more check out her TED Talk on serious play and how her career took off because she hated Helvetica.