Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection
How to create a productive environment
The importance of self-care in productivity
How to avoid distractions
A different industry in another sector could have a simple solution to your issue that you have not thought of due to function fixedness.
Explore adjacent industries for creative solutions. For example, ask a friend how they would approach your issue in their industry.
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MORE IDEAS ON THIS
Studies suggest that it's possible to teach your brain to move away from functional fixedness and embrace creative thinking.
When faced with a task or problem at work, try stepping away from how it's always been done. Instead, explore the problem creatively to find alternative solut...
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A step away from functional fixedness is to break a problem into its basic components. Instead of focusing on the details, only focus on the essential elements. When the problem is stripped from unnecessary detail, you're less likely to fall back on functional fixedness.
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When you approach a task in a new way, it's easy to judge unusual ideas harshly and reject them.
Be open to new perspectives instead of limiting your options. At first, you should not consider any idea as too strange.
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Crowdsourcing is an excellent way to get the support of external participants to find solutions.
For example, LEGO encourages fans to submit their own ideas instead of only relying on in-house designers. The most popular will be reviewed, and if approved, will be manufactured.
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Functional fixedness is a bias where we can only think of a narrow set of functions for a tool. A knife is made to cut things. A cotton swab is for cleaning your ears.
It is common to stick to what we know. We become comfortable repeating tasks in a way that fits with our p...
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Karl Duncker first described functional fixedness in 1945.
In a study, participants were given a candle, a box of tacks and a book of matches. Participants were challenged to attach the candle to a wall so that it would not drip on the floor. Instead of noticing that the ...
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When we need to make a decision, we tend to ask "What should we do?" However, it narrows our thinking to one right decision.
If we ask the question: "What could we do?" it broadens our decision-making frame, because we can consider multiple futures. Could ask what if, what el...
When someone has found a solution, they may never look further for other solutions. But by not looking for additional solutions, they may be missing out on something better.
It is better to find ways to break habits you have, for instance, watching a movie in a different language, or w...
The most sustainable self-care solutions come from combining different parts of our lives.
For example, self-care time could enrich your career (a meeting while walking), support your town (tidying up the neighbourhood), or grow your relationships (streaming yoga videos wi...
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