Getsidetracked

This app is designed to help you think creatively with a series of 54 prompts. Tap or shake for a random “GET” or browse through them to find the one that catches the moment.

Many people see creative thinking as the preserve of a minority of ‘creatives’ or artists. They think you either have the gift or you don’t. They don’t imagine they have it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Creativity is for everyone. It’s a muscle everyone can exercise and it strengthens with use. There are quite simple processes and creative-thinking techniques that anyone can use. Then the process of creative thinking invariably encounters blocks on the way. It’s common to get stuck. But there are methods you can use to overcome them. The 54 prompts in this app are a mix of those processes, techniques and methods distilled down into a fun and user-friendly format.

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There are several ways to use the app;
1 — Tap, hold or shake for a random prompt. This in itself models one of the techniques of creative thinking which is to get provoked by something that interrupts your usual flow of thinking. To make the most of this, stick with the prompt you get and see where it leads rather than keep tapping until you get one you like.

2 — Browse all the gets to find those that fit where you are in the creative process. The more you have used the app the easier this will be. Broadly speaking the creative process pushes out in the first phase as you explore a range of ideas and then at some point distills down as you focus on making the idea reality. So there is definitely a season for some of the gets.

3 — The app is helpful if you encourage others in their creative thinking and projects whether as a friend or a coach. For example we spoke with someone who had developed the idea to write a book around metaphors for leadership. The ‘GETS' that helped them move forward were GET UP and GET STARTED. We ended up reading aloud the text in GET UP as it so perfectly seemed to be the prompt they needed.

4 — The app can also work well in a team or workshop environment. We used four recently in a workshop environment where we were exploring an idea to take to a hackathon - GET DISSATISFIED, GET INTERRUPTED, GET HERETICAL and GET SIDETRACKED helped the group play and expand their ideas beyond what might have been obvious or easy suggestions.

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Creativity is a way of being, a way of relating to your life. Thinking creatively can transform your life. We hope the Getsidetracked app helps you do just that.