Simpler Solutions

I've been in a bit of a creative rut. 

It's complicated. 

In pre-Covid times, I had a gigantic whiteboard in my office on 38th Street at JWS. Whenever I was working on a creative project (which was pretty much all the time), this gigantic whiteboard would be completely full of ideas and frameworks and quotes and sketches. 

My whiteboard allowed me to plug into my creativity, get my thoughts out of my head and into the space. From there, I could step back and look at all of my thoughts. This often led to my greatest Aha! moments.  

I haven't seen my gigantic whiteboard since March 11.  My creative output has suffered as a result. I’ve tried all sorts of solutions to replace my whiteboard: fancy notebooks, premium papers, all different kinds of pens, apps, you name it  And I’m still creatively stuck. 

I was lamenting my creative drought during a JWS team meeting several weeks ago. “I’m stuck. I need to find a way get back in touch with my creative process in this new normal.” I explained all of the complications around the current circumstances and how I was determined to find a solution.. My team was sympathetic. They seemed to get it. 

Once the meeting was over, the team got together and bought me a whiteboard. 

Why didn’t I think of that?

I'll tell you why. I didn't think of that because I was too busy thinking about all of the details of the problem. I got so involved in how complicated the problem was that it didn't occur to me to look for the simpler solution. I was looking for a complicated solution to a complicated problem. The simpler solution was there all along. I just didn't see it. 

The irony here is that I often ask my clients “What if it were easy?” I had forgotten to ask myself that question. 

We're all facing incredibly complicated problems right now. Some of them, of course, require very complicated and intricate solutions. AND it is very possible that you had fallen into the same trap that I have, looking for a complicated solution to a complicated problem. 

So, I’ll ask you: What is the simpler solution? What if it were easy?