To solve problems in a creative way, you need to get your mind to look in new places. You can do this in a planned way by making "what if?" scenarios from a list of words, mostly adjectives. You start with "What if it was..." and then choose a word from the list. The "it" in the question is the problem you're trying to solve or the current solution or situation.
How to Solve Problems with "What If?"
This will be easier to understand with an example. Think that your house is too crowded because you work from home. You ask, "What if it was..." and then pick "smaller" from a list. The business could be smaller, but the house is already too small. You might get the idea from the word "divided" to keep the business in just one part of the house.
Most of the words on the list won't help, so you can quickly skip over the ones that don't matter. But don't just ignore them without giving them a few seconds of thought. "What if it was hopeless?" may seem like a pointless question, or it may make you realise that you just can't keep the business in the house any longer.
As with most ways to solve a problem, it's important to let ideas come to you without judging them at first. Don't stop people from being creative. When you're done with this part, you can look at your ideas again.
The List of Words for Solving Problems
You can make your own words list. Use adjectives, describing phrases, and words that can make you see things in a different way. Some of these things could be:
What if it was... larger, smaller, farther away, closer, sooner, later, easier, more difficult, higher, fat, rich, short, black, certain, hopeless, newer, boring, casual, subtracted from, cheaper, common, divided, more interesting, extravagant, subtle, or fun?
