Change Your Perspective

Occasionally during the event planning process, I can come across a decision or a challenge that stumps me, even if for a little while. I can stare at it and stare at it but it looks the same every time. I can walk away and come back the next day and it still looks the same. It can be frustrating if I am not able to move on after a period of time.

After having planned events now for over 16 years, I have discovered a couple of tidbits that help me get over the hump when I’m stuck on something. I am usually the problem-solver, the trouble-shooter, and in a pinch, can McGuyver my way out of just about anything. However, during the actual planning process when there is time to think things through, I find it occasionally harder to get past the “things.” If this describes you at all, next time, try changing your perspective. Try one of these:

• Change locations. I find that if I change which room of the house or office I am working in, or actually change locations by heading to Starbucks, I can come up with a solution to whatever it was I was struggling with. Maybe it’s because I am experiencing different energy, different light, or different sounds, but oftentimes, this helps distract my logical brain just enough to let more creative parts take over.
• Change your view. This comes in handy if I am stuck on a word puzzle or am trying to find something I wrote on a page when taking notes during a meeting or phone call. My handwriting is not that great and occasionally I just KNOW I wrote something in my notebook that I want to either transfer into typed notes or to my task list that I can’t find on the page. Sometimes just by physically turning the paper sideways or upside down the word or phrase I am looking for will jump off the page.
• Change activities. If I have been working on a challenge I just can’t get past, sometimes I need to change what I am working on. For me personally, I can’t move to another thought-provoking task, I need to do a mundane, repetitive task such as folding t-shirts, steaming tablecloths, or rolling silverware. Often, the act of mindless repetition brings a solution to light.
• Talk it out. I might just need the input of someone else’s creative juices. An outside perspective might be able to see something I am simply too close to. Plus, collaboration with a team often leads to much better and more creative solutions for challenges or amazing brainstorming lists than if you are doing it yourself.
• Sleep on it. It amazes me how often I either dream of a scenario that solves the issue I am struggling with or I think of a solution right around twilight sleep. I always keep a notebook by the bed so I can write ideas and solutions down during the night. Not only will I never remember in the morning, but if I don’t write it down, the idea swirling around in my brain now has me fully awake if I can’t put it somewhere to reference later.
• Walk away. Yes, sometimes you just need to put it down and walk away. Pick this particular challenge back up another day.

So the next time you are stuck on a challenge, rather than get huffy and want to pull your hair out, try one or all of these tidbits to see if you can find a solution in a different way. If you still have trouble, give me a call. Problem-solving is a sport for me. Really.

Do you have another perspective you would recommend? List it here or shoot me an email!

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