Creative technique: list ideas following a prompt
When you’re stuck and don’t know where to start from, take a partner and play to list their ideas following a clear and concise starting question.
Solve problems better: bottom-up and top-down
Combine the direct problem-solving approach with creative exploration to find novel and useful solutions.
Stop. And reflect.
You cannot always be in the flow. Take periodic breaks to evaluate your achievements in retrospective to plan the next move.
Design methods, how to avoid reinventing everything
Study, research, and adapt the best design process for the context of the problem you want to solve. And design solutions that are effective, efficient, and pleasurable.
Constrain your creativity to make it easy
Having a format to follow, even when flexible and loose, gives the quick sprint of taking care of the topic without worrying about the structure. It gives pace and logical flow.
Test your solutions before your users
The design process requires competence, focus, and hard work. Do not risk to create fragile solutions by skipping systematic testing of your designs. Plan and execute to stress your solutions intentionally in extreme cases. You will develop robust tools with a higher chance of surviving in the real world.
Writing about writing about writing
Write daily: a lot, a little, but write. Write free-flowing or with intentions, but write. Collect, organize, and connect, but write. Review, revise, and publish, but write!
What to write when you don’t know what to write
If you find yourself in the situation of not knowing what to write you can leverage on your drafts, your notes or on your creative toolbox.
Expert? Show up, provide value and we’ll see.
Practice, study, and be prepared to show up and provide value with your expertise. Welcome to the era of the Knowledge Entrepreneur.
Be prepared for anything
It doesn’t matter if you can foresee future, be mindful in preparing yourself always beyond the expected, to be ready for the unknowable.