How SCAMPER Method Helps Me to Evaluate and Improve My Productivity
A year after the pandemic, I haven’t been fully able to be mindful and passionately do productive things. Until one day, around mid of 2021, I decided to bring out all of my energy to re-build my motivation and restart my journaling session. Little did I know, what I did those times were actually a practice of the SCAMPER thinking tool.
So, what is exactly SCAMPER?
On my first XL Future Leaders workshop with my fellow Cohort 1 Yogyakarta, Rizki Oceano taught us to know deeper about the SCAMPER thinking tool which stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. This thinking tool is used to help us brainstorm products, either it’s physical or non-physical. In my case, I “accidentally” use it to rebrand my self-awareness.
I use 4 out of 6 points in SCAMPER. First, I substitute my environment with a newer and fresher look. I used to feel gloomy all day, not knowing when will the pandemic ends. Those sorrowful days often end up with a hopeless cry and unmotivated mood. Hence, I tried to substitute it with a new room placement in order to build a new experience on starting my day.
Second, I try to adapt my condition to the reality that sometimes is not always nice to us. Even when the world has to change the dynamic, it does not mean that I can’t get out of my stuck point. The depressing situation was real, but I have to take my courage to be finally able in adapting to the situation. I tried to take a look at a simple thing that I eventually took for granted at that time, such as my healthy body, my ability to think, and my warmest companion from family. By realizing that everybody is currently struggling on their own way, I slowly realize that I also have many things to be grateful for.
Third, I modify my daily routine. From just trying to finish the day to live in the day wholeheartedly. I used to just wake up and have nothing interesting to do at that time, do I realize that I really was so unorganized. I start to build new habits, such as planning my day out in my journal and writing gratitude messages before going to sleep. I am originally enjoying myself writing down what I feel on a daily basis so I modify it into more organized and structured in a well-planned journal.
Lastly, I tried to eliminate the unhealthy habit that I have. I even still work on this so hard until now. I acknowledge myself as a very sympathetic person that sometimes could be a boomerang that turned me into a heavy overthinker. I tend to take things deeply and feel the urge to be responsible for all things around me. Those traits are somehow becoming a huge “weight” that I always carried every single day. I do realize that this is not an easy process, nor an instant change, but I am sure that by starting small such as rebuilding my self-esteem and eliminating unimportant thinkings.
From those experiences and realizations, I finally understand what Rizki meant by practicing the SCAMPER thinking tool to make a better “product”. Regardless of the result that is still going on the process, I really find that this thinking tool would help us very much in brainstorming the actions and steps that we will take.
