We get used to everyday things. One of the most basic ways humans learn is by a process called habituation. Our brain encodes the daily things we do into habits so we can free up space to learn new things.  Habituations is not always bad. Take learning to drive. At first, all your nervous attention is focused on the wheel, the cars, the lights, the pedestrians. but with time, it becomes easier and easier. You habituated it.Other times, habituation isn't good. It stops us from noticing the problems around us or fixing them.

Habituation prevents us from noticing problems

The job of designers, innovators and entrepreneurs are to notice the bad things humans get used to and go one step further to fix them. It's easy to solve a problem that everyone sees. But it's hard to solve a problem almost no one sees. A product designer sees the world the way it really is, not the way we think it is.

Designers learn to notice the world

There are invisible problems all around us, ones we can solve if we can just notice them.Tips to fight habituation:<ul><li>Look broader. When you're tackling a problem, there are often many steps that lead up to the problem. When you step back, you can change some of the stages before you get to a problem, combine them, or even remove them.</li><li>Look closer. When we focus on the little details we may otherwise not notice, ask, "Are they important, or is it the way we've always done it?" Maybe there's a better way.</li><li>Think younger. Young minds often ask tons of questions and then attempt to solve them.</li></ul>

Resisting habituation

As humans, we become so used to the familiar problems we face that we fail to see them. Designers look at this from a different viewpoint. They learn to notice the little everyday things and try to improve upon them.

As human beings, we get used to "the way things are" really fast. But for designers, the way things are is an opportunity ... Could things be better? How? In this funny, breezy talk, the man behind the iPod and the Nest thermostat shares some of his tips for noticing -- and driving -- change.

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