Okay, so I wanted to share something I tried recently. Heard about this thing called the “Lola Cunningham” method, supposedly for shaking things up when you feel stuck. Honestly, sounded a bit fluffy, maybe? But I was really hitting a wall on a project, figured I had nothing to lose.
First step was just getting prepped. Didn’t need much, which was nice. I cleared off my desk because I read somewhere that clutter is bad for this kind of thing. Then I grabbed a plain notebook, a pen that actually works (always a struggle), and just… looked around for random stuff.
Trying the Lola Cunningham Thing
So, here’s what I actually did. It felt a bit weird at first, not gonna lie.
- I picked a totally boring object off my desk. I think it was a tape dispenser. Thrilling, I know.
- I set a timer on my phone for like, five minutes.
- The instruction, as I understood it, was just to write down everything that came into my head looking at the tape dispenser. Words, feelings, memories, dumb jokes, whatever. No filter.
- Did that feel long? Yes. Did I write some absolute nonsense? Also yes.
- Then I repeated the whole thing. Grabbed another random object – a crumpled sticky note – and did the five-minute brain dump again. Then one more time with a dusty old mug.
- After that, I had these pages of just… stuff. The next part was supposed to be spreading out the notes and trying to find weird connections between the tape dispenser thoughts, the sticky note thoughts, and the mug thoughts.
Hitting a Bit of a Snag
Alright, gotta be honest, the first go-around felt pretty pointless. My notes were like “clear plastic,” “sticky,” “cuts tape,” “round,” “handle,” “coffee stain,” “needs washing.” Trying to connect ‘tape dispenser’ and ‘dirty mug’ just felt forced. I was thinking, “Okay, Lola Cunningham, whoever you are, this is maybe not for me.” I almost stopped right there.
I was just staring at the words, feeling kinda dumb. Where were the brilliant insights? It felt more like making lists than having breakthroughs.
The Shift and What Happened
Then I figured, maybe I was taking it too seriously. Trying too hard to be clever. So, I took a short break, made some tea, and came back. This time, I just let my eyes wander over the words without trying to link them logically. I focused more on the weirder associations I’d written down.
And something kinda clicked. Not like a lightning bolt, more like a little nudge. I saw I’d written “holds things together” for the tape dispenser and “contains liquid” for the mug. Then I had something about “temporary note” for the sticky note. Suddenly, I wasn’t thinking about the objects themselves, but about concepts like ‘holding,’ ‘containing,’ ‘temporary,’ ‘permanent.’ It didn’t magically solve my big project problem on the spot, but it definitely loosened up my thinking. It was like cracking open a window in a stuffy room.
So, the Lola Cunningham method? It wasn’t some miracle cure. But it did help me get out of my own head for a bit. It forced me to look at things differently, even mundane things. It’s a simple technique, maybe a little silly, but I found it surprisingly effective for just nudging my brain onto a different track. I’d probably use it again when I feel really stuck. It’s low effort and sometimes, just doing something different is enough to get things moving again. Worth a try, I guess.