Amazing how problem-solving can take a creative turn when you change your perspective.
That’s what I learned this weekend at a coach’s training session, where we circled a hotel meeting room, moving from space to space outlined with painter’s tape, each space representing a different perspective on a topic.
Mine was e-mail addiction: how to beat back the instant gratification of checking e-mail more than a couple times a day. Why? It’s a habit that just about every organizing expert and even your Uncle Harry will tell you wastes time and destroys focus.
Invited to look at the topic from random perspectives, including from the point of view of random objects around the room, I chose the cupcakes over by the coffee urns.
“What’s the cupcake perspective on this?” my coach wanted to know.
“If e-mails were cupcakes, I would not be able to stop eating them,” I said. I would go back for more every few minutes until my stomach hurt and I got very, very fat.” The thought, fortunately, was revolting.
The solution, we decided, was to tape a picture of a cupcake by the computer. That way, every time I was tempted, I would feel slightly bloated and voila’! not at all interested in e-mail So there. Another way to organize your life. No kidding. It could catch on.
