In a fast-paced work environment, professionals tend to address problems with the same, overused solutions. This copy-and-paste maneuver is an efficient use of our brain’s energy but tends to treat unique problems with generalized solutions. What if we could hack our brain and force it to think in more creative ways?

Dr. Shelley Carson, author of “Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity, and Innovation in Your Life,” has created a model of seven brain states of creativity. She has named these states as the “CREATES brainsets.” We can think of a brainset as “the biological equivalent of mindsets.” The seven brainsets are:

• Connect
• Reason
• Envision
• Absorb
• Transform
• Evaluate
• Stream

Each brainset relates to a different type of thinking. Understanding brainsets and how to use them can help us steer the creative problem-solving process through this creative, focused thinking and then come up with more novel solutions. I will go over the three most important brainsets: connect, absorb and envision. These brainsets are the easiest to invoke and are the most applicable to the workplace.

The connect brainset helps us to generate multiple ideas and make connections between disparate concepts. This brainset can be invoked through the process of riffing or brainstorming. A group that is riffing often generates both a wide range and a high number of ideas. Ideas are written down but are not evaluated until the riffing process is over. The key to riffing is to draw connections between outside concepts and build a long list of potential ideas. Only at the end of riffing do you decide to narrow down the list of possibilities to find your creative solution.

The connect brainset can also be invoked in smaller ways through posing unusual connections and word combinations, using juxtaposition or employing metaphor in your writing.

The absorb brainset is all about paying attention to the world around you. The human brain tries to conserve energy by ignoring excessive stimuli in our daily lives. A person invoking their absorb brainset scans the environment, notices new things, and treats new ideas with respect and suspends judgement. Intentionally activating our absorb brainset allows us to override the cognitive inhibition that leads us to filter out sensory inputs and judge them as irrelevant. Absorbing information is helpful for seeking new problems or seeking information to solve new problems.

Practice engaging the absorb brainset by trying to write in colorful and concrete detail. Include words and descriptions that help activate all the senses.

Finally, the envision brainset encourages us to think visually about a problem. Many of us get into the habit of only thinking in verbal thoughts; however, the human brain has an incredible ability to envision and engineer objects and spaces in our minds. Evoking the envision brainset is a quick trick to bypass thinking about previous, overused solutions and instead to visualize something new. It will help us to prompt visual solutions to existing problems, give insights into how spaces are used and solve what-ifs of future or unknown scenarios.

Practice your envision brainset by visualizing the solution to your problem or imagining an unfamiliar or future experience. Including pictures and graphics in your work can also help to prompt the envision brainset.

I hope you’ll try activating these brainsets next time you find yourself in a creative rut at work. Try engaging in a riffing session to find a novel solution by connecting seemingly unrelated ideas. Or search for overlooked details in the world around you and write with colorful imagery. Try visualizing your problem before beginning to write out a solution. Applying these brainsets to your workplace will inspire creative solutions to any problems you are facing.