Well, as promised, this week we’re continuing with the use of creative ideas to help you find solutions to stubborn problems. There are lots of ways you can prompt your imagination to look at a problem differently – you just need to find the one that suits you. Try the methods given below to force your mind to think more creatively.
Free Writing – this is easy, simply take a piece of paper, sit and think about your problem or issue for a couple of minutes and then start to write down everything that comes into your head – no matter how silly it may seem. This gives you a chance to get all your ideas down on paper before you forget them. Once they are down, you can go back and consider each as a valid option for a solution.
Random Input – this is as random as the name suggests. All you need is a piece of paper and a book of some kind – a dictionary is a good place to start. Now, open the book and randomly choose a word (stick a pin in the page or something like that). Once your word has been chosen, think about whether it can help you resolve your problem or not.
Use Different media – by this I mean use clay, paint, crayons – whatever you feel drawn to use – to express the problem. We tend to stick to verbal reasoning in business situations, but there’s no reason why you can’t express the problem using music or any other media you like. Don’t focus too much on solving the problem at this time, just get it out. Once you’ve expressed it differently, you may find that the resolution comes quickly.
Get Someone Else’s Perspective – this is already part of the process when you work in a group. But, if you work alone, it’s probably a good idea to let a fresh pair of eyes look it over. They may see a really obvious solution to the issue that you’ve missed, simply because you are too near to it – ‘Can’t see the wood for the trees’ is an expression that comes to mind here!
If I Were you… – this is a fun way of looking at a problem from a new perspective. Imagine yourself as someone else, who you choose is up to you. You could imagine being a multi-millionaire with endless funds or a highly successful entrepreneur with a head full of quirky ideas. Whoever you choose, the idea of the game is to imagine what they would do in your situation.
Change Your Scenery – just getting up and away from the problem can help solve it. Sometimes your mind needs a break to shake you out of stale, tired paths of thinking. A walk in the woods, a trip to the coffee shop, browsing in your local library – all these things can give you a new perspective on the problem. And, don’t think that you actually have to leave your house to do this. The change of scenery can be in your mind. What I mean by this is that it’s just as effective if you take time to play with your kids, take a nap or listen to music, whatever you like to do to relax. It’s the distraction that’s important, not the location. You’ll probably find that when you come back to the problem, an answer will present itself.
These are just some of the problem solving techniques you can use. There are lots of others you can have a look at, try and then decide if they work for you. If they don’t, move on to the next and keep going until you find one you like. And remember, you may need to change the technique you use on a regular basis to keep your ideas fresh.
