There are TWO activities I can think of- walking and listening.
Both sound like passive activities that do not require too much effort…not like other tasks I need to do in a day.
Even though I cannot remember exactly how I started combining these activities together, now both activities are essential in my (almost) daily life.
Walking to a local running track (to exercise) while listening to podcasts became the ritual I “lose myself in”.
Listening to podcasts and hearing the questions and comments by the podcaster or its guests discussing various topics make me feel like I am part of their discussions. Somehow “walking” part of the activities happens without any effort.
Recently, I heard a game designer discussing their design process on one podcast.
As a person who had never played video games, I did not think I would relate to their stories….until the (videogame designer) host mentioned the comment, his design work starts from thinking, and mulling, and then those unclear thoughts move to sketchbook to organize those thoughts.
Wait…my design process works the exact same way…feeling the frustration of facing the blank sketchbook, drawing something, erasing it, and often facing the worst, starting all over again.
Design work is a proactive activity that requires DECISIONS. However, to arrive at those proactive decisions, I need passive activities like walking and listening.
Super easy activities like walking and listening (ok, sometimes difficult with this one) are easy to lose myself in…better yet, conducive to finding myself in a jumble of thoughts in a day.
Check out the link above to see how I stumbled on the beauty of those two activities together one day years ago!
Life Outside of Design Studio 