Do the obvious thing extremly

Daniele Catalanotto
Apr 14, 2022
A Service Design principle about problem-solving.

I'm trying to lose weight. I try a few things. Nothing really works. I read about various techniques, but they all seem so different. And even science is all over the place!

“Man, that's so complex! I'm gonna stay fat”.

That's when I have a little “aha” moment: “If I eat waaaaaay less, I'll lose weight.”. So I try this. But in an extreme way. I eat as little as it feels possible for me. It's an extreme challenge, but it works. Is it the smartest way to lose weight? Clearly not. But it works.

When it comes to problem-solving, we can get lost and demotivated in the same way. We try a few things, and they don't work. We try to inform ourselves, and the only thing that happens is information overload. We lose motivation. The problem feels too complex to fix.

In such moments we can ask ourselves:

What's the one obvious thing that we can do in an extreme way that would work?

And then commit to that blindly for a long enough. Sometimes we don't need to find the smartest and more innovative idea.

Little side notes

  • This is the second draft of this Service Design Principle.
  • I was able to reduce the lengths by 18.61% compared to the first version.
  • Once adapted, even more, this principle will be part of the book "Service Design Principles 201-300"
  • As always feel free to share comments, feedback or personal stories to improve this principle.
Like 1
Patrick Marcelissen
May 3, 2022
Clear for me. I would add to that “ focus”.
Daniele Catalanotto
May 5, 2022
Thanks for the feedback Patrick, might I ask where do you see the addition of "focus" in the title, or as a general idea in the principle?
Deleted
Oct 29, 2022
I have a hard time with this one. I can’t get past the extreme dieting which is usually ineffective, unsustainable, and can lead to eating disorders. 🤔

(I’m glad it worked for you, though!)

Massive action plays haven’t worked for me in any other realm, either. Maybe it’s a personality thing.  Slow and steady is my motto! 
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 31, 2022
Thanks JJ for the feedback ;) 
Indeed there are smarter and more sustainable ways to get there. But on the journey seeing a first spike of results can then motivate to find a more sustainable and healthy way to get there. I've added this nuance in the text ;)
Daniele Catalanotto
Oct 31, 2022

The third draft of this Service Design Principle

I’m trying to lose weight. Nothing works. I read about various techniques, but they all seem so different. And even science is all over the place!

“Man, that’s so complex! I’m gonna stay fat”.

That’s when I have a little “aha” moment: “If I eat waaaaaay less, I’ll lose weight.” So I try this. But in an extreme way. I eat as little as it feels possible for me. It’s an extreme challenge, but it works. Is it the smartest way to lose weight? Clearly not. But it works. As I see change happen it motivates me to look for healthier ways to do it.

We can do the same with many problems. Especially when we are overwhelmed with contradicting information and lose motivation.

In such moments we can ask ourselves:

What’s the one obvious thing you can do extremely and for long enough?

Daniele’s notes

  • This is the third draft of this principle.
  • I’ve reduced the length of this principle by 23 % compared to the previous draft.