The problem:
What do you do when you have too many choices and not enough time? How do you make sense of a lot of raw information about a problem that has no apparent pattern? And most important, how do you do it fast?
The 69 cents solution:
The fastest way I know how – and one that I use with most clients – is the decidedly low tech use of 5×7 index cards. These are the cards you can buy for 69 cents at the grocery store or local office supplies outlet. The entire process takes 30 minutes and here’s how it works.
Do a data dump. Get it out of your head.
- Take a magic marker and write in bold letters on the front of the card one “idea” or “problem” or “factoid”
- Fill out as many cards as possible in 10 minutes time. Don’t worry if you repeat yourself. Don’t worry if the words you choose sound awkward or less than perfect. It’s about speed not accuracy.
- When you have about 50 cards or the 10 minutes is up stop work. Take a deep breath. You’ve done well. You’ve emptied your mind for the time being.
- Sort through the cards and try to put them in stacks according to any theme or commonality you may notice. Label the stacks with title cards. For example you might have a stack called “ideas” another named “problems” and a third called “people who can help me.” If you have cards that don’t seem to fit anywhere, just put them in a temporary group called “other.”
- Now walk away and take a short break. Coffee, tea, breath of fresh air, all that matters is putting distance between you and those stacks.
- Now sort the cards and stacks one more time. Did your short coffee break give you time to see new patterns? Did you think of details you want to add? If so, flip the card over and in pen or pencil write a few sentences about it on the back.
- Make a list of the title cards. This list is the skeleton of the solution for the problem you are trying to resolve. And you’ve identified it in a half hour.
The power of the shuffle:
In the coming days you will shuffle and reshuffle, add, combine and delete cards. It’s your right to change your mind as often as you see fit. But each time you do, you’ll find yourself closer to an answer that makes personal sense. Why? Because there is power in tangibility. You are holding the solution in your hands. And unlike computer software which enforces a rigid, linear thinking process, your index cards ecourage playing “what if” cominbation games.
It’s worked for others. It will work for you.
Clients who have benefited from this technique include:
- Marketing Managers
- Advertising Execs
- Researchers
- Writers
- Startups
Give it a try. Sometimes low tech solutions provide insight into high tech problems. And best of all, you’ll never have to plug your cards into an electrical outlet or worry about getting a WI-FI connection for your magic marker.
Have suggestions or enhancements to the process? Please leave a comment below!
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