Pause Creative 1.0

Pause is a thoughtfully designed application aimed at fostering a creative mindset. It offers users daily prompts to enhance their creative thinking skills while also allowing individuals to track their creative cycles. For those who may perceive themselves as lacking creativity, this app provides support in understanding and cultivating one's creative potential. Users can select days dedicated to absorbing beauty and processing experiences, as well as days designated for active creation.

The app's foundational concept stems from Lajos Szekely’s 1967 work, “The Creative Pause,” published in the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis. Szekely defines the creative pause as:

The time interval beginning from the moment the thinker interrupts his conscious occupation with an unsolved problem, and ends when the solution of the problem or a partial solution or otherwise an insight suddenly and unexpectedly occurs.

This notion of the creative pause aligns with what many refer to as "shower ideas"—insights that arise when one is not intentionally focused on a problem. Pause aims to cultivate these enlightening moments through structured practice.

The app encourages effective problem-solving by guiding users through daily prompts designed to reshape thought patterns and embrace the notion of the creative pause. With attention to the rhythms of life, Pause incorporates both seasonal and daily structures into its framework, offering prompts that correspond to each season: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. As users progress through the seasons, they will explore various categories such as:

• Introducing the Creative Pause
• Generating Alternatives
• Challenging Assumptions
• Picking Out Dominant Ideas
• Knowing Yourself
• Generating Analogies for Problem Solving
• Identifying Child-Like Patterns From Past
• Enjoying Random Stimulation
• Challenging Labels
• Focusing Attention Area
• Exploring Dream State
• Reversing Challenges
• Observing

Each day upon opening the app, users can select between two modes:

• In: This mode is for days when one feels less inspired or energetic and prefers to absorb art or reflect on thoughts.
• Out: This mode suits days when users are eager to create or engage in new experiences.

Upon completing the daily prompt—regardless of choice—users should mark it as complete; uncompleted prompts will remain unmarked. The app resets each night at midnight, presenting a new set of prompts for the following day’s selection. As users navigate through the seasonal prompts chronologically, they are led methodically through various categories aimed at developing their creative thought processes. Each new season introduces an entirely fresh set of prompts, restarting the strategic practice anew.