What is a design mindset?

Like many things in the design lexicon, ‘design mindset’ is a term that is very much open to interpretation. I can probably tell you that if you ask me what a design mindset is, I would give you a different answer 3 years ago than I would have today, and 3 years down the road my answer would be completely different again. Even while searching the web for some reading material while writing this post, I came across completely different ideas regarding design thinking and the design mindset. I can only hope to give you my version of it, and to hear yours.

A design mindset is a way of thinking that continuously evolves, changes, and adapts. It is based on a series of principles most commonly found and practiced in the design industry (thus earning it its name), but is not exclusive to the design industry. The main points of design thinking can be summarized as follows:

1) Practicing a methodology that involves identifying the problem, issue, or question at hand, and approaching it from various perspectives.

2) Allowing any idea, regardless of quality, to appear on the table before it is judged.

3) Taking risks with approaches and solutions that have never been applied or attempted before.

4) Continuously striving to improve upon a current situation or condition, in an endless cycle.

How is a design mindset important in my life?

An excellent question. In fact, promoting design thinking in daily life is one of the main reasons I started this blog. A design mindset is important in your life because your life is a product of your design. Just like your car, or your clothes, your life is the result of the various choices, improvements, and mistakes that you have made so far. But most people don’t realize this and allow their lives to run on autopilot, just leaving it as it is. But think about it: if Nike had let their products remain as they were, the World Cup would have been played in t-shirts and sandals. Implementing design thinking into your life will allow you to continuously improve your quality of life, as well as to critically and objectively analyze your life, to find areas in which you can become a better person.

So what principles of design thinking can be used in daily life? I’ve listed 8 that I try my best to live my life by, but take note that these are far from an exhaustive list, and even within these 8 I bet opinions are going to differ.

There is no limit to learning.

I’ve encountered it in hundreds of people, yet it still bewilders me each time I do so: meeting a person who thinks his/her learning days are over once he/she reaches a certain age. A person can spend his entire life learning new things, and yet he/she will never reach omniscience. Even more so when you consider the ever-changing nature of science and technology. Like how constantly updating your design knowledge will help your designs stay fresh and unique, opening yourself up to learning something new every day is great for your spiritual and mental health.

For every problem, there is a solution.

Repeat after me: There is NO SUCH THING as an unsolvable problem.

Design thinking has overcome the most challenging of problems in the past. Millions of pages worth of data stored in a tiny chip no bigger than a button? Done. A convenient way to fasten and unfasten fabric? Hello, zipper.

If a solution doesn’t exist for your problem, it just means that one hasn’t been created yet. If so, what are you waiting for?

And for every solution, there will be a problem.

How many times have you experienced this one? You have a major breakthrough at work, only to find that your solution created another problem further ahead. While sometimes the problem that appears may not be the direct result of the solution, it always seems like there’s one more obstacle in your way than you have the energy to overcome.

The key to controlling this is to understand that this is simply nature’s love of balance working here. Don’t think of it as new problems, but instead as new questions to ponder, and new challenges to conquer, and you’ll soon realize that every problem that crops up in your path only serves to motivate you further.

You are your loudest audience.

You are your biggest fan, and you are your strongest critic. The one person who will most appreciate your achievements will be you, as will the one person who is most critical and harsh regarding your failures or mistakes. It is a natural fact of life. The reason behind this is simple: the person who pays the most attention to you, is you. Understanding this and accepting this is a vital key in improving your self-confidence and personal image.

Don’t be afraid to try new things, or to do things that seem silly. It may seem like everybody would laugh at you, but in reality, they have much better things to do than to circle around you and wait for you to fall. In fact, they may be supportive of your risks, and you may even end up inspiring them to take some risks themselves. It’s your life, and what you want to do with it is what counts.

No one key works for every lock.

Bob the Colleague finds yoga to be his outlet. Since he started going for yoga classes, you find him to be happier, calmer, healthier, and much nicer to be around. So you try it yourself. After a few awkward balancing poses and muttered swears, you arrive at the office the next day with a snappy temper and a sore side. What happened?

It may seem obvious when you look at it from a third person’s perspective, but it’s not always so clear when you’re going through the problem yourself. What works for one person may not always work for you. It’s great that you’ve tried it out, and you’ve found that it isn’t helping. Accept that, and try something else. Perhaps pole-dancing would give you the same calmness that Bob gets from yoga. Hey, it’s worth a shot, right? Which brings me to my next point.

Judgment does not come before a trial.

The courtrooms have it right: don’t judge something before you try it. Pole-dancing may seem like a bizarre thing to try, and really, if you’re a guy, you’d probably rather be the pole that be wrapped around it.

But you’re never going to find out what it can do for you unless you try it yourself. You don’t have to commit to anything yet. If you’re taking a physical class like pole-dancing or yoga, try looking for an option to try one class, or even for a one-time workshop. Thinking of studying a language? Pick up a phrase book and start pronouncing the words, and think of how it makes you feel. And while there’s no workshop or trial option for a career change, perhaps you could take a few days off and experience aspects of your new career (like being a professional shopper, or an artist).

Prepare for these one-time experiences by telling yourself that you are going to accept every experience that happens to you during this time, good or bad. You are here to try something new, and with that comes the acceptance that it doesn’t always work out.

If you can’t see, try changing glasses.

Persistence is a virtue often praised. After all, if at first you don’t succeed, you are told to try and try again. But sometimes, it just doesn’t work, and it only results in frustration, and in certain cases you could even burn out.

Try tackling the issue from a different angle. See it from another person’s point of view. You’ll begin to notice aspects of this issue that you would have never seen otherwise. Again, an open mind is vital here, because if you keep insisting that your way is right, you’re never going to learn anything new.

This idea of different perspectives can also be applied when you have an idea. Even the most analytical of us will be biased to our own ideas. Forcing yourself to look at your own ideas from an external perspective will highlight flaws and points of improvement that you would have otherwise been oblivious to.

Enjoy the journey, and you will enjoy the destination.

In Robin Sharma’s book “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”, the main character asks his newly-enlightened friend regarding the final goal of this new, spiritually wholesome life. I forget the exact words the friend used to reply, but it was something like this: “If you keep one eye on the horizon, only one eye is enjoying the road.” Today, I was in a bookstore, flipping through a book on meditation, where they advise the reader to “meditate not for the benefits it can bring in the end, but for the benefits you get from each meditation.”

Both touch on the same meaning: in any journey, the destination only holds part of the value. There is real experience and value to be gained during the journey itself. And this is doubly important if you are doing something that involves long periods of effort or discipline, like getting fit or studying. It’s always good to focus on your final goal, but the truth is that most of us end up focusing on the entire stretch of road that is between us and that goal. Try instead to focus on the journey. Learn for the sake of learning. Pick up a musical instrument not because you want to wow your friends (although having that as a final goal is perfectly acceptable), but because you like the sound of the instrument, and because you want to try playing a particular piece of music. When you focus on the journey, your development and learning rate seems to accelerate rapidly, and pretty soon you’ll be amazing your friends with a world-class bongo drum performance.

Since this is an issue that I strongly relate to, I can probably go on for pages. However, I’d much rather hear your perspective (see what I did there?) about this. What are some of the things you do in your life that you think qualifies as ‘design thinking’?

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A campfire analogy would probably work best here. It takes some effort to start a campfire, but with the correct spark and a receptive bunch of kindling, you can get a good fire going. After that it’s just a matter of minor maintenance, and that fire will keep you warm without much effort on your part. Similarly, all you need to build up a long-term, consistent sense of motivation in yourself is three things.

1. The spark – do something that inspires you
2. The kindling – be open-minded about changes that happen in your life
3. The maintenance

The Spark

This is actually the easiest part of the whole thing. Doing something different, even if it’s a minor thing, opens your life up for changes that you could have never imagined. True, there are stories of people who suddenly quit their successful jobs to become artists or to work in the mountains, but don’t let that fool you; even small actions can bring big changes. Here are a few things that you can try:

1. Take a language class – ever felt like picking up Spanish? Or how about Chinese? An additional language is not only a practical and highly useful skill to have; it’s also a great way to see things from a completely different perspective. I especially like dissecting phrases and old sayings to see what life must have been like for the native speakers.
2. Dabble in the arts – Sure, you’re not going to be the next Picasso, and neither will Virgin Records bang on your door to sign a music contract, but picking up an instrument, or a paintbrush, or even a new dance move is a great way to shake the way you think up a little. And who knows? You might make a new friend along the way.
3. Spirituality and meditation – Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to preach religion here. Spirituality isn’t necessarily about God; it can also mean getting in touch with your soul. Whether the power that you want to connect to is above or inside you, or even somewhere else, taking the time to explore this side of you can often yield amazing results. It also provides a great platform for you to evaluate yourself and see if you’re who you want to be.
4. Voluntary work – this one is a no-brainer. Unless you chew puppies for breakfast, helping another person (especially someone who cannot help himself) is sure to make you feel better about yourself. And the great thing about voluntary work is that there are hundreds of ways you can do it. There’s no such thing as too many volunteers.
5. Do something different. Read a book you’d never read otherwise, listen to music that’s completely out of your genres. The idea is to try something different, and to pay attention to the difference.

The Kindling

This is where most people have trouble. Pushing yourself to do something different may be easy for some people, but the tendency to avoid and reject change is so common, it’s practically hardwired into our DNA as human beings.

Think about it: you can’t ignite stone. For inspiration to happen, you have to be open enough to accept change. It’s much easier said than done, I’ll admit. Unconsciously we balk at any changes inflicted upon our lives (job transfers, new neighbors, etc). Try this then; every time you try something different, mentally tell yourself that you are going to experience this to the fullest, because you are never going to do this again. Taking part in a play? Then give your very best, and hold nothing back, because chances are that it’s a one-time thing. You’ll find that you’re less likely to hold back, and more likely to open your mind and soul to whatever is waiting for you. And of course, the audience always loves an actor who gives his best.

The Maintenance

(Also known as The Occasional Poke.) Once you get the fire going, you’ve more or less won the battle. But even the best of fires will die if you don’t tend to them. Take some time every once in a while, like say one in two weeks. Think about yourself. Think about the motivation that you have and how it feeds into everything you do. What can you do to continue this feeling? Let’s say you get inspired by yoga. Perhaps you’ll build a stronger network of motivation by talking about your passion with other fans of yoga. You’ll also learn something new about yoga, which will definitely feed your motivation. Or perhaps you could try teaching yoga to a class. Actions based around what inspires and motivates you are your best options for continuously feeding your inner fire.

Now that you’ve got a good sense of inspiration and motivation going for you, you’ll feel like a new person. You’ll start the day brighter and bushier-tailed, and you’ll smile and laugh more often. Even during bad days, you’ll be able to face things with a smile, because you know that every day, there is something good happening in your life, and you’re becoming a better person for it.

At this point I’d like to point you to a website that you may already know, Stepcase Lifehack. If you aren’t already a regular visitor to that site, make it a point to read their articles. A large majority of the articles focus on various ways, both big and small, to improve your life. In particular, I find the articles written by Celestine Chua (who has a seven-part article series on finding your true purpose in life on her blog) to be very motivating when I need to remind myself what I’m aiming for in life. I highly suggest you give it a read.

What would you like to try to spark your motivation? If you’ve already got your fire going, what do you do to keep it going? Share it with us in the comments.

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While shaving milliseconds off of your daily routine may not sound like much, there are changes that you can make at home to save minutes and even hours. Read on for some ideas.

1. The night before, prepare some juice or milk in a sealable container, and put it in the fridge. In the morning, instead of running out with a biscuit in your mouth, grab the drink. You’ll get your morning perk, it’s healthy, and it’s cooling.

2. Get a tray by the door for all your keys. If you live with someone, consider a separate tray or maybe a hook for only your key bunches, so you can grab everything in one motion.

3. The standby – You can combine this with the key tray. Get a shelf, rack, or even a corner of the kitchen counter that has plug point access. When you come back home, immediately put your phone, music player, PDA, and any other gadget that you might have, on that counter. You don’t necessarily have to charge it (in fact, overcharging is not good for most gadgets), but it’s important that you make a habit of automatically putting your chargeables on that counter, and only then considering whether to charge them. Also make sure that the standby is in a convenient location on your way out so you’ll remember to grab everything in the morning.

4. Is your bathroom in one corner of the house, your towels in another corner, and your laundry basket in a third? You get where I’m going with this, right?

5. Invest in single-portion containers and no-brainer recipe books. On the weekend, cook up a batch each of two recipes (if you share a living space, this is a great ‘together’ activity, or you could even take turns surprising the others!) and store it in those containers. You now have instant fuss-free dinners that you can just heat up and enjoy. (Extra tip: some recipes can be varied with some herbs, garnishing, or seasoning. Experimenting will make you enjoy your food more.)

6. Take number 5 further by investing in a good rice cooker. I’m not sure how common it is in other parts of the world, but in Southeast Asia it’s a staple for most houses. Although most obviously known for cooking rice, the rice cooker can actually be used for a whole variety of dishes, and the best part is that it requires almost no management from you.

7. Stick a piece of paper to your fridge or pantry door, and jot down items as you notice your need for them. If you can, reduce your shopping to once per week, at off-peak hours, so you can get in and out with minimum delay. Also, before you make that trip, look at your list, and sort them by your aisles in the mall. (Bonus prep: The next trip you make to the mall, take a pen and paper and list down the categories in each aisle. You’ll be zipping through the aisles with a smirk on your face.)

8. Lists. They save time, tension, and temper. A list of things you usually pack on trips, a list of documents you need to makes copies of, or even a list of things your kid needs for his field trip. I usually take one weekend morning and make a list of chores and other tasks I need to do. In fact, I find this to be quite motivating.

9. A dry-erase board, or a whiteboard as it’s sometimes known, may be an odd thing to find around the house, but the advantage of having a space to combine grocery lists, to-do lists, birthdays, memos, and anything else, far outweighs the wall space it may take up. Just be sure to stick it in a place you’ll see.

10. Arrange your office clothing in advance. This tip may seem more geared towards women, but you’ll be surprised by the number of men who really wonder if that shirt and that tie go together. Setting aside even ten minutes on the weekend can really work wonders for those frantic mornings.

But can he walk the walk?

Those of you who know me will be surprised that I’m writing a post about time-management, since my own time management skills are less than impressive. However, I find that the best way to commit myself to these changes is to also spread word about them.

I have managed to practice some of these tips at home. All my keys are in a key holder that I cannot miss on my way down the stairs. Since my phone doubles as my alarm, my gadgets are always beside my bed. I’m naturally a list nazi, so I’ve got that covered. And while I don’t have any particular office clothing (ah, the sweet life of a designer), I do find that packing my gym bag the day before saves me a lot of rushing the next morning.

What time management methods do you practice around the house? Share your ideas in the comments section.

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