Exploratory Writing: Everyday magic for life and work

set the timer for six minutes and freewrite in response to this prompt: My work is… Now look back over what you’ve written and have a go at picking out all the metaphors you’ve used. Remember they can be hiding in plain view – be ruthless in identifying anything that is not literally true; there’ll probably be more than you imagine. What do you not

One fun and effective inquiry experiment is to flip the familiar idea of brainstorming: instead of trying to come up with as many ideas for answers/solutions as possible, challenge yourself to come up with as many questions related to the topic you’re looking at as possible.

This is the foundation of learning: the willingness to entertain the possibility that you might be wrong, that there might be a better way to do things. Paradoxically it’s a sign of inner confidence: it’s the most insecure people who resist the idea of being wrong most strenuously. Being comfortable with being wrong is at the root of what psycholog

In this exercise, we’re going to explore how these objects shed metaphorical light on an issue you’re facing. So that’s the final step: select a live problem or situation that you’d like a fresh perspective on. It could be a tricky relationship, a resourcing or structural issue, anything.

If I could do that again, I would…

How can I move the needle just 1% today?

Morning Pages are a key practice in The Artist’s Way, her 12-week course aimed at awakening creativity. But if you’re using freewriting as a tool for business thinking rather than as a purely creative exercise, it can be more helpful to start with a prompt.

‘Metaphor’ is simply the catch-all term for thinking about one thing in terms of another.

You may be familiar with inquiry as a tool for self-development in your professional life if you’ve worked with a coach: a good coach is less about providing answers and much more about asking great questions to help you understand an issue better and create your own solutions.

I think the reason I don’t know the answer to this is…