Modern wood-pulp papermaking methods were first developed in China around the first century (105 AD), but it wasn’t until 1391 that Chinese emperors began ordering 3×5 foot squares of the stuff for use in the bathroom. Why did it take a thousand years for people to realize wiping with paper was better than the alternatives (leaves, shells, corn cobs, etc.)?
Understanding simple connections between problems and their solutions is hard. It’s easier to justify why existing methods (i.e. corn cobs) are good enough. What can do to help yourself discover simpler solutions to problems?
Ask stupid questions.
Stupid questions are the hardest to answer. They’ll get you thinking about problems from a new perspective and allow you to be skeptical about the established thinking on a topic. Example: Einstein started his work on relativity by imagining what things would look like if he traveled on a beam of light.
Try new tools.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When all you have is Ruby on Rails, everything looks like a Ruby on Rails project. Get a new hammer: Flash, OpenLaszlo, Processing, Camping are just a few examples.
Be positive.
Shooting down ideas is easy but wasteful. It’ll kill your creativity, especially if you’re working with a team. Learn to say yes more. Saying yes doesn’t mean “Yes, this is how we’ll solve the problem”, it just means you’re accepting the potential of the idea to lead to an eventual solution. Check out John Sweeny’s Innovation at the Speed of Laughter for more on this (Sweeny’s presentation video here).
Solve different problems.
The creative process often leads to a solution for a problem you weren’t even concerned with. So what? Be an equal opportunity problem-solver.
Be Persitent.
Again, Einstein says: “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
When in doubt, start.
Doing is better than not doing. Don’t be afraid to just start.