The Power of Frequent Experiments, Daily Idea Quotas and Gratitude … Plus More Nov-Dec Ideas for Wide-Format Print Pros

strategyImagine Your Project Is Dead

Ever tried a “pre-mortem”? Here’s how it works, and why it helps. Psychologist Gary Klein flips the usual brainstorming exercise on its head. Instead of nervously asking what might go wrong, you assume the project already crashed and burned — then list the reasons. People suddenly feel free to be blunt, even competitive, in predicting failure. It sounds gloomy, but it helps you spot risks before they sink your big new plan.

ProductivityProtect Your Two Golden Hours

Josh Davis, director of research at the NeuroLeadership Institute and author of Two Awesome Hours, says carve out one daily two-hour block at your peak energy. Treat it like sacred ground — no interruptions allowed. You’ll get more done in that window than in two distracted days of “busy.” If you’re running a shop, those hours are gold for complex color matching, RIP workflow optimization, or pricing strategies before the phone starts ringing. Everything else? Schedule it for when you’re running on fumes.

SELF-IMPROVEMENTName That Demon

Panic. Catastrophizing. Fortune-telling. Call it what it is. Dan Harris, author of Ten Percent Happier, swears that “labeling the thought” is half the cure. So the next time you feel like the shop’s about to collapse, say it: “This is just anxiety talking.” When a banner run jams at 3 a.m. before an event deadline, name the panic before it snowballs. Calm hands fix problems faster than frantic ones. Suddenly it’s less like Godzilla, more like a loud neighbor.

CREATIVITYSet Constraints to Spark Ideas

Blank pages can be paralyzing. Steven Kotler, author of The Art of Impossible, says constraints drive ingenuity. Google has purposely under-staffed projects to force resourcefulness. Challenge yourself: design a trade show display using only three ink colors, or pitch an installation concept with half your usual square footage. Even a haiku works because its limits unlock creativity

MANAGEMENTClose the Loop

Gratitude isn’t just polite — it’s a luck magnet. Tina Seelig, Stanford engineering professor and author of Insight Out, ends every day by reviewing her calendar and sending quick thank-you notes. “It only takes a few minutes, but it has increased my luck,” she says. A short thank-you after a flawless vehicle wrap install or a substrate supplier who rushed an order can strengthen relationships faster than any discount. People who feel appreciated open doors. Skip the thanks, and those doors slam shut.

SELF-IMPROVEMENTListen to Your Lucky Hunches

Intuition isn’t magic — it’s pattern recognition. Richard Wiseman, psychology professor at the University of Hertfordshire and author of The Luck Factor, says lucky people pay attention to their gut but also clear space for it by meditating or stepping away from the noise. When something feels off about a file before you hit print, or a client’s timeline sounds too tight, that’s decades of experience talking. Trust every whim? No. But ignore your gut entirely, and you’re tossing years of hard-won instinct in the trash.

sTrategyBuild If/Then Plans

Willpower is weak. Implementation intentions are strong. NYU’s Peter Gollwitzer found adding “if-then” rules doubles success rates. “I’ll prospect more” fails. “If Friday’s production schedule has gaps, then I contact three potential clients Thursday afternoon” succeeds. The trigger removes the decision. No willpower needed — just execution.

PRODUCTIVITYTry the Two-Minute Rule

Overcome inertia by shrinking new habits until they’re impossible to resist. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, says the trick is to scale every task down to under two minutes. “Read 30 books” becomes “read one page.” “Meditate daily” becomes “breathe for 60 seconds.” Master the art of showing up before worrying about mastery.

sTrategySet a Daily Idea Quota

Industrial designers often speak of an “idea ratio”: thousands of iterations before a breakthrough. Utley recommends a daily idea quota — articulate a problem and then force yourself to come up with 10 or 20 solutions. It pushes you past the easy answers into fresh territory.