Improvisation

Happy New Year!!!! I hope 2010 brings us all joy and success in our endeavors.

I believe that improvisation is a key to flexible thinking. I don’t always have the “perfect” tools or what would be ideal for every situation. Think MacGyver.

For example, if you’re a music lover, but have a small budget, how can you hear and get new music? One solution is to subscribe to a song of the day podcast (KEXP is good one). Another is to go to a local music store and listen to the cd’s that are available to listen to for free. Perhaps a visit to your local library.

Apply this concept to other areas in your life. In general, I’m a bit of an organizational freak. Maybe your chair is old, stained, and nasty even though you just started. You could ask if there is some sort of storage that holds other office furniture. I once procured a nice, leather chair this way. Maybe there you can create a fun, inspirational figurine from magnets. Ambiance helps me get more done in my cubey. Organizing helps productivity, but the budget isn’t always there to back it. Get creative! Start scrounging and put on those thinking caps.

Improvisation is good for expanding the mind, using resources wisely, and creating wonderful new inventions or works of art. In an ideal world, each of us would have the perfect tool for every situation. The reality is, we need to work within our limitations (often budget constraints) to accomplish our goals. Improvisation helps redesign our thinking and therefore our lives. Who knows what you can do with dental floss, a paperclip, and some tape until you try. (My sister fixed a broken shower rod this way.)