Some days a laptop just does not cut it and I revert to pen(cil) and paper.
There is something about the non-linearity of multiple bits of paper that allows the ideas in my head to flow out, rather than bounce around. Being able to spread them out and switch between them without scrolling up and down, being able to see the whole picture rather than just the zoomed-in focal point.
An idea here, oh some clarity there, that means I can expand on this, that re-enforces that, which ties in with and is validated by those values.
My clients have all benefitted from my scribbles about their businesses as I listen to the blocks and as they celebrate their successes because understanding the bigger picture gives direction around what to focus on.
Over lockdown, I’ve been working on a new idea/format for supporting clients and have run a pilot program with some willing volunteers and have been absorbed into the detail of how I’d run it, what worked and didn’t work in the pilot, what needed to be added and taken out, who it would suit, what time and money they would need to invest in it. Creating spreadsheets, searching for images but there were some bits that just were not coming together.
Then this week I found myself with no laptop in sight, a stack of paper, my pencil, an Iced Coffee and a couple of hours to reassess where I was with it all.
As I mapped it out (remapped it out as I’ve done it before) there were lots of ticks (got that, got that, done that). Then there were some ticks that had also question marks (I’ve done it, but I’m not happy with it) but I let those go and carried on scribbling. It was then that I wrote some word that I’ve used before in a different place/context usually buried within a page, this time they stood alone on a page and they made more sense. Their weight, power and purpose stood out more. Seeing them in this way filled in the gaps and created some new bridges that brought everything closer together.
So, my reflection this week has been to get it out then #SortItOut.
Have you been stuck on something that has just been going round and round in your head, or in documents that just won’t come together, as there is something missing but you just don’t know what?
If that was a yes then feel free to book a free meeting with me, either online or in-person at The Curious Lounge to talk it through and #MoveForward.
https://www.aimtosucceed.co.uk/contact-us/
(Republished from August 2020 as a reminder)