Scientists experiment. All. The. Time. Because they know whatever happens they will learn something. They start with a hypothesis and test it, knowing it might not work and they might be wrong. Yet the act of getting something wrong is step closer to understanding. And some choose to celebrate those steps.
The problem starts with becoming preoccupied with the outcome. Wanting reassurance the experiment will succeed. Of course, if we knew the outcome before beginning, it’s not an experiment.
Mostly it’s fear holding us back from experimenting. A fear of it going wrong, of it wasting time or of looking stupid. But fear is not the enemy. The enemy is doing nothing. Doing nothing means we don’t learn. Doing nothing means we don’t create an opportunity for change or growth. Doing nothing means we stay the same. Which of course is fine, if that’s what you want.
When to experiment
When you’re stuck or not developing
Experiments are a great way to get unstuck. Exploring new ideas, new ways to do things or simply trying something a little radical. What have you got to lose?
When you want to get or do better
Trying something different is implicit in this. If you’re not happy with where you’re at, then what might you try? Better might be doing something differently: your work, marketing, thinking or something else.
When you want to change and grow your practice and you’re not sure what to do or how to do it.
This is an extension of the previous “when”. The intention, however, is different. You’re acknowledging you’re not sure and you don’t know. It should make you more open to experimenting and trying something you otherwise mightn’t have?
When you’ve got some spare time
Free time is the perfect time for an experiment. It’s constructive use of your time and if the experiment doesn’t succeed it doesn’t feel quite so much like a waste of time. Which, by the way, it’s not in any case.
Getting help
Not so much a “when” as an alternative or parallel proposition. If your stuck or wanting to get better, getting help is one option. Getting help might also be a form of experimenting.
Which leads us to…
How to start
It helps to get curious and ask questions.
What have you tried?
If you’ve only tried one experiment, or worse you’ve just been going along in your work doing it the way you started, then what else might you try?
What might need to change?
What is the area of your practice you want to change? What have you noticed about it? What is a reasonable hypothesis to test? What might you try doing differently? Can you come up with an iterative process?
What are you tolerating?
Have you noticed something in your practice your tolerating? Or worse, is there something that you find really annoying or challenging and you’re not doing anything about? Try experimenting.
What might be something better to try?
Come up with tweaks or manageable experiments. You don’t need to go big. Find iterative improvements that are worthwhile trying out. They might not work, but what if they do?
“Can if…” framework
Defeating the self-limiting stories you might make up
Negativity
We have a negative bias, we’re hardwired to be negative. It’s an evolutionary predisposition. It means we’ll jump to why something isn’t possible first, or why it might not work. We’ll discover all the reasons why we shouldn’t experiment.
Instead of “I can’t because…” use “I can if…”
Defeat the negative. Come up with all the reasons you can do something and how you might do it.
You’re a creative. Flex your design muscles
When designing a building you’ll explore all the reasonable options, and many that aren’t, in the pursuit of the best option. You’ll end up with piles of butter paper. In designing or redesigning your practice by coming up with experiments to try, you should have piles of options too.
Reminder: it’s a choice.
“Can’t is a choice to stay the same. “Can if…” is a choice to find a new and better way to do your work.
Questions to help you start
If you’re still holding back. Here’s some additional nudges to help you to start experimenting.
Is it reversible?
If it’s reversible and you can get back to the same state in which you started then there’s really no reason not to start. Indeed if it’s reversible move faster, you’ve nothing to lose. Only if an experiment isn’t reversible should you move more cautiously.
What is the worst that can happen?
Write down all the worse case scenarios you can think of. If they scare the s#!t out of you, it might be worth trying fear setting. My guess is, however, that your fears are greater in your mind than in reality and you might see that when you write them down. Alternately, if the worse that can happen is manageable, it’s worth going for it. It’s an experiment after all!
What is the cost of not taking action?
Is the cost greater than that of taking action? If so, it’s a no-brainer. There’s a reason for trying experiments and as motivation it’s worthwhile reminding ourselves of the cost of not taking action. Similarly, it’s a good reminder of why we’re doing the experiment in the first place.
You don’t have to do big experiments but you do need to start.
Don’t hold back. Write a list of all the experiments you can try. From the big to the small. If you can do an experiment a week, what might you learn? Turn it into a habit and a mindset. None are a failure, they’re all a step towards learning more.
I ❤️ Experiments
Keen to hear what you’ve tried, what you’re trying, how you went about it and what you learnt. Please drop me a line and let me know. we.are@unmeasu.red
Picture by Brett Sayles [edited]
