thinkies

name	thinkies
description	Applies Kent Beck's Thinkies—pattern-based thinking habits that generate ideas. Use when stuck, exploring alternatives, or reframing decisions.

icon: 💡

Thinkies

Thinking habits that generate ideas through pattern recognition and transformation. Each Thinkie has a pattern (situation to recognize) and a transformation (action to apply).

Generate first, evaluate later. Most ideas will be filtered out — this is expected. Apply the transformation completely before judging results.

Process

1. Pick a Thinkie — Match the pattern to the situation
2. Apply transformation — Generate the idea fully without evaluation
3. Present result — Share the generated idea with attribution
4. Evaluate together — After generation, assess usefulness with user

When to Apply

• Stuck, blocked, or paralyzed
• Need different perspectives or approaches
• Decisions without clear paths
• Need to generate ideas or alternatives

Starter Thinkies

• Can't/Because → When/Can — Reframe limitations as conditional possibilities
• Easy Bit — Pick absolutely easiest useful action to build momentum
• Fun Bit — Pick most enjoyable component to build energy
• Scale Down — Focus on tractable subset
• Half in Half — Ask "which half in half the time?"

See references/catalog.md for 80+ Thinkies organized by category. See references/examples.md for product and software development scenarios.

Anti-Patterns

• Pre-judging whether a Thinkie will work before applying it
• Presenting Thinkies as "the answer" — they generate ideas that need evaluation
• Overwhelming with too many options — start with 3-5 relevant Thinkies