Our minds are very clever at running through the same ideas over and over, like a needle stuck in a groove on a vinyl record spinning over and over, around and around.



That's great for turning new information into knowledge or skills. Our mind will keep busy, running images and ideas in the background while our conscious attention is on other matters. It's helpfully building our expertise. But it sure gets in the way of coming up with new approaches to situations that are stalled. In fact, the end result of that 'helpful' mental activity is that...

We often give the available options no attention at all. And we don't take advantage of the High Payoff information available in the minds of other people around us.

And then no shift in understanding is made. No new decision is made. No targeted plan of action is designed or implemented.

But relief is at hand! I often say "God bless the guy who invented the Post-It Note!" Those wonderful little sticky pieces of paper have liberated our busy minds. Whether you use sticky paper or scraps you tear up for yourself, you'll want them on hand for the next version of our technique to

REFRAME - Change Your Frame of Reference

There are several versions of this technique. Two that I've shared include

Version 1 - Add a new person with a different background to the conversation.

Version 2 - Add a new 'setting' to the conversation.

Remember as you use those versions of Reframing - The less similar the circumstances, the less similar the experience of the new person you add to the conversation, the quicker you'll see the assumptions you've been making that have been preventing you from seeing the alternatives you could pursue.

And here is a third approach. I've used it in boardrooms, conference rooms, offices, park benches and on airplanes:

Version 3 - The Shuffle

Whether you're trying to solve a business issue for a client, or the matter is internal to your own business productivity, treat the information like pieces in a Rubik's cube. Shuffling all the information into new positions and changing their pairings lets you see them in a new way. It can quickly reveal the assumptions that have been stalling your progress.

Write all the issues and ideas on separate pieces of paper, and pair them up randomly. You can use Post-It Notes, torn paper, the back of business cards! On a separate piece of paper capture each of the 'new' ideas that comes to mind.

If you're doing this as a team, using sticky notes up on the wall lets everyone's mind join in, jotting, shuffling and sharing the new ideas and realizations.

You'll fill pages of alternative ideas that you can let yourself or your team continue to probe and play with, so be sure to set a time horizon for The Shuffle and for when you'll sit down again to sort through and prioritize those new ideas.

You know you've got something your mind's been chewing on. So grab this Reframe technique and apply it today and let's get you moving again so you can boost your productivity this week.

Copyright (c) 2008 Linda Feinholz