Supplemental Sunday: The "Six Things" Rule
One of my forever quests is to make things that have multiple purposes and uses so that I can squeeze every possible value out of the space that is around me. This quest is really evident to me right now as I am making some progress towards maximizing the use of my space and wishing that I had more and more and more space to use. My solution? Trying to make things more and more effective all of the time...
I try really hard to stay in a mind frame of "six things."
Before I can keep any type of material or visual aid, I have to think of six different things to do with the material/visual aid; six things with different therapeutic goals; six distinct ways to use the thing in order to justify keeping it in my clinic area. If I can't think of those six things, I can't keep the material in the clinic. It goes home (part of why I am currently trying to maximize my living space right now).
So, how is this done?
I am a big fan of stream of consciousness brainstorming. I sit down with the material in front of me and with a piece of paper. (I like forms, so here is the one that I use most often...) The form is pretty simple, but it works for me. I start off with the name of the material at the top. After that, I start to think about what I can do with the material.
The best thing about stream of consciousness brainstorming is that there is never a wrong answer. Whatever you think goes into the boxes and stays there because whatever is thought of becomes part of the exploration. The more I can think of, the more I can figure out how to use the material. Here's an example of a brainstorming form in process...
In addition, one of the things that I try to do is to brainstorm specific songs, TME ideas, or situations where using whatever I am thinking about will enhance the material/visual aid. I usually reserve the last box on the form (here it is empty) for that type of brainstorming.
This process is never fully finished. There are always more and more things to do with materials when you bring the client into the experience, so I make revisions to this form whenever concepts occur to me.
Sometimes, I go into the creation process with a number of uses already in mind. When that happens, I can find my six purposes really easily. When it doesn't happen that way, it makes me struggle to find my justification, but struggle I do. I've found that, if I really like what I have made, it is easy to brainstorm things to do with the material or visual aid.
Until I can figure out the six things, I don't take things to my clinic to stay. Once I do, I can justify using some of my space to store the material or visual aid in my everyday environment.
Now, if I could only do that at home...
I try really hard to stay in a mind frame of "six things."
Before I can keep any type of material or visual aid, I have to think of six different things to do with the material/visual aid; six things with different therapeutic goals; six distinct ways to use the thing in order to justify keeping it in my clinic area. If I can't think of those six things, I can't keep the material in the clinic. It goes home (part of why I am currently trying to maximize my living space right now).
So, how is this done?
I am a big fan of stream of consciousness brainstorming. I sit down with the material in front of me and with a piece of paper. (I like forms, so here is the one that I use most often...) The form is pretty simple, but it works for me. I start off with the name of the material at the top. After that, I start to think about what I can do with the material.
The best thing about stream of consciousness brainstorming is that there is never a wrong answer. Whatever you think goes into the boxes and stays there because whatever is thought of becomes part of the exploration. The more I can think of, the more I can figure out how to use the material. Here's an example of a brainstorming form in process...
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| Brainstorming in Process Here... |
In addition, one of the things that I try to do is to brainstorm specific songs, TME ideas, or situations where using whatever I am thinking about will enhance the material/visual aid. I usually reserve the last box on the form (here it is empty) for that type of brainstorming.
This process is never fully finished. There are always more and more things to do with materials when you bring the client into the experience, so I make revisions to this form whenever concepts occur to me.
Sometimes, I go into the creation process with a number of uses already in mind. When that happens, I can find my six purposes really easily. When it doesn't happen that way, it makes me struggle to find my justification, but struggle I do. I've found that, if I really like what I have made, it is easy to brainstorm things to do with the material or visual aid.
Until I can figure out the six things, I don't take things to my clinic to stay. Once I do, I can justify using some of my space to store the material or visual aid in my everyday environment.
Now, if I could only do that at home...
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