When it comes to problem solving techniques, letting your mind out to play {regularly} is a winner
When my son was five years old, he loved Waterplay Mornings. Once a week at school the shallow water troughs would be set out for longer than usual. The kids would gather like bees around a hive, industriously pouring, (splashing) measuring, (splashing)… happy as the proverbial pigs in mud.
It looked like pure pleasure
But my cousin the preschool teacher pointed out the educational undercurrent. “Children learn by playing,” she explained. Through water play they are actually exploring serious concepts of physics such as fluid dynamics. Kids are in a constant state of exploration and problem solving, driven by their innate curiosity about this world expanding at their fingertips.
Of course it’s not long before kids end up in ‘big school’ where desk-bound work becomes the strict order of the day. And perhaps that is where the idea that work and play can’t overlap begins to take root.
Most adults struggle to accept that scheduled mental ‘play time’ is a factor in finding more creative solutions to our work problems.
Our regular approach to find problem solving techniques?
Creative thought is increasingly prized, yet our way of finding answers in the workplace is to have long meetings in small rooms.
We sit.
We think.
We discuss. Perhaps even draw the odd diagram.
And of course these things have their place and can ultimately lead to solutions. But there might be something you can do to speed things up.
What if there’s a parallel problem solving technique that can help?
There’s a growing body of evidence that suggests we should approach problem solving from a different angle, and angle that involves less rigour and more contemplation. Diarising unscripted time smacks of scoring an own goal in our time-poor working lives, but may be essential to still the monkey chatter of the rational side of our brains to let the lateral thinking area do its work of sifting and connecting.
You’re probably thinking “I don’t have time for that”
In the real world, problems need to be solved and Time = Money.
And yes, I get that.
That’s our adult default when the pressure is mounting. But by the same token, it pays to dig a well before you are thirsty. Just as you cannot do a full month’s exercise in one session – you can’t force thinking into tight spaces, either. So scheduling small, regular chunks of thinking space makes sense.
But isn’t this just Pie in the Sky?
It all sounds a bit crazy. How can routinely scheduling thinking time – and therefore spending less time doing ‘serious’ work really make for better, faster problem-solving? And yet we know that often the best ideas come to us in the shower. Growing numbers of business executives set aside at least 10 minutes a day to ‘do nothing’ but sit with their thoughts. I guess the question is, can you afford NOT to?
What can you do that fits the bill?
Apparently the weaving aspect of knitting has a calming and creative effect on the neural pathways ;). But hauling out knitting needles in public can feel a little awkward, so may I recommend you takie out your writing tools instead… and start to learn to cartoon?
Cartooning is less intimidating that regular drawing or painting
But it’s just as good at disengaging your thinking brain and it has other major advantages.
- it only requires a pencil and paper
- it’s quick and clean, and
- it’s unobtrusive…
… all of which adds up to being easy to fit into your diary each day.
It’s a no-brainer. Get started cartooning today.
P.S. The title of this article is a direct quote from the legendary cartoonist creator of Calvin and Hobbes: “Letting Your Mind Play is the Best Way to Solve Problems”. Thanks Bill Watterson for all the inspiration!
P.P.S. If you really want to learn how to cartoon, here’s a simple (free) video tutorial to help you get started – How To Start Cartooning