The same experience can be seen with kids. They can have the best games and sporting equipment, but often they get a tremendous amount of enjoyment and entertainment out of something they just pick up or invent in the moment.
There’s an expression that says that necessity is the mother of invention which means that often we will figure out a quick, easy, or inexpensive solution to something using what we have on hand as resources. We look around and see what can be pressed into service to solve a need or issue that we have, and we either are satisfied with that solution or we improve upon it as we have more time and materials to reinforce our original idea.
As we enter someone’s home that needs our help, we assess what is going on. There may be a very simple way to improve upon what we see. There could be a more elaborate one as well, but often it’s that initial, simple, intuitive approach that ends up being the best for the client and us. It does the job, and it’s easy on the budget.
This won’t always be the case, but instead of looking for complicated solutions to issues we are observing, we should look for a simple solution. Then we can decide if that is the one we want to present to the client, or if we want something a little more detailed.
When we have faced a situation in our own homes that required an immediate response, or we needed to fix a persistent issue, we sometimes would just do something quick or we would use something we had on hand that seemed to be right for the issue. Many an invention has resulted from a need that was satisfied initially from using materials on hand or re-purposing something that was designed for another use.
With our clients, we may have to use something a little more durable than we would use in own homes because we aren’t going to be there to redo it if it doesn’t last. Still, the initial idea that we have, or a very simple approach can be the winner.
When we look at something and immediately think to ourselves that a certain method or solution might work, that easily could be the answer. Overthinking the situation and making it more complicated and expensive than it needs to be aren’t necessary. The client will thank us for a quick and easy solution that was affordable as well. Simple doesn’t always equate with inexpensive, but often it does.
Let’s not shy away from going with our first ideas just because it provided a quick, easy, or inexpensive solution to an issue the client was facing. They won’t think any less of us for not having a complicated approach. In fact, just the opposite. Looking at something and wondering if a certain approach might work is a good place to start. We don’t need to over-improve on an idea.