My thinking process when it comes to working on a project tends to be quite messy. It often involves me over thinking, under doing, and just generally shooting myself in the foot for at least 50% of the time allotted for completion. This isn’t necessarily the case when I work on smaller problems though.
I have found that my brain is developed both logically and creatively. The logical half of my brain allows me to use convergent, analytical tools to solve problems. This mostly only works when I am solving smaller problems, with clear deadlines and constraints. In these situations I am very capable of defining the problem, and using logical analysis to reach a suitable result. I try to get things down on paper as much as possible, so I can conceptualize the steps of the problem more visually. However, I do sometimes neglect to do this. When reflecting on a particularly difficult problem I couldn’t solve, I often find I skipped this step.
As for tackling larger projects, essays, and other long form assignment, that’s a different story. My tendency here is to use more creative, divergent strategies to approach these tasks. As a result I tend to look at the project from a big picture perspective. This is often quite problematic because when I see the large scope of the project all at once, I feel it is beyond my ability.
As opposed to smaller tasks, which I approach quite logically, I tend to approach larger tasks much more emotionally. I sometimes feel that the project, or my ability to complete it to high standard, is reflective of my personal worth. These are pretty high stakes for something as basic as a term paper. As a result of this self imposed pressure, I often experience a lot of anxiety around large projects. This causes me to waste time worrying instead of using my time to actually work on accomplishing the task at hand.
Once I actually get into my process, I usually use a combination of tools. One that really works for me is free-form brainstorming with another person or a group. Just being able to get ideas out of my head and into the air allows me to feel more comfortable with the project and the subject matter and as an added bonus there are other people to help me see things in a different light. One pitfall of this is I am not very competent at brainstorming alone, and I often don’t allow myself to just have bad ideas so some good ones will come.
Once the ideas are on the table I find that free writing works well to move the ball along. I try to write as quickly as possible while editing as little as possible. Sometimes I even write with my eyes closed. I find this strategy to be effective because it eliminates my tendency to over think. I might only generally know where I’m going with a point, after that I just let my fingers do the work and polish it up later.
Overall, I do have good tools and strategies for thinking, except for at the beginning of projects when I get in my own way by worrying about the destination rather than the journey.
You are very self aware, this is awesome. I identify quite a bit with the way you approach big projects, which is to diverge and diverge until it becomes an overwhelming (but potentially great) project that is beyond your abilities to tackle. I bet this is common among divergent thinkers though. What strategies have you found useful for moving forward? For me sometimes it’s just starting, simple as that. Often in one direction, which will then lead in a completely different one.
How about Chunks with folks (a shout out to the old 91.3 lunchtime show)I think it shulod be a sweet cream base, chunks of dried apples, dried peaches, roasted pumpkin seeds, and chunks of chocolate. Like a trailmix ice cream.
As a fellow marketing major, I can completely understand your difficulties with brainstorming alone. The marketing curriculum that we have been put through here at Sauder is very group project based – I am also horrible at brainstorming alone! Perhaps it is part of our human psychology, we sometimes doubt our ideas first but when have our peers around us, they can either reinforce that our idea is good and build on it or guide us away kindly in another direction. I find that the best and most creative ideas are never the result of a single person, but are a collaboration of different perspective and brainstorming within a group.