It's easy to understand why people in large systems do the things they do.
Because the systems are composed of so many working parts, a tiny error somewhere can eventually lead to a cascade of catastrophe.
Or at least that's what the fear is.
As a result, most of the people working within these systems are terrified that they are going to get punished for causing a malfunction, so they opt for a "better safe than sorry", "have all my bases covered" approach to everything.
This results in blanket policies, reactive strategies, and a general unwillingness to rock the boat, making changes only if absolutely necessary and only after mind-numbingly long periods of time.
Bureaucracy, red tape, infuriatingly inflexible gatekeepers, we've all met them.
And hate them.
And yet, they aren't there by accident. They are there by design.
Which means that they can also be designed away.
Hence the immense importance of thought leadership, safe spaces, and granting autonomy.
Playing With Instagram Carousels and Seeing What I Can Learn From Them
Not too long ago, I was introduced to Instagram Carousels.
Though I professed in an earlier post that I was tired of social media and had essentially stopped uploading content for the sake of doing so, I thought that making some Carousels might help me to hone my design skills and teach me something.
I didn’t go into it with the hope of gaining a tonne of followers or garnering avalanches of likes and comments, as I already knew that social media only rewards those who slavishly post and spend an inordinate amount of time on it.
No, I decided to do it for my own benefit.
And I believe that I have already learned a few design tricks that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
The initial template took some time to carve out, but once it was in place, it wasn’t hard to put in content in the same format. This was part of the first carousel I made.
And this is part of the second one that I made, based on the same template for the first.
And, of course, I’ve made a few more since then.
Now that I’ve figured out a template for this, I might go on to make templates for other things that I’m thinking of dabbling in - infographics, e-flyers, and so on.
Actually, I’ve produced a couple of e-brochures earlier, to help market my newly-written courses for the school market. They were what partly inspired me to see if I could bring what I learned about designing them into a carousel.
I intend to continue producing e-brochures - this time for corporate courses and public workshops.
Let’s see where it goes!
I Spent Two Months Plus Doing These Things During Singapore's Circuit Breaker
Now that Singapore’s Circuit Breaker has entered Phase 2, with limited openings of certain establishments, I suppose we could say that we are starting to get back to some sense of ‘normal’.
Perhaps this is a time to take stock of what I’ve done over the past 2 months or so.
The main achievement?
I produced 4 sets of curriculum/content.
Namely,
1) Forensic Investigative Skills
The original purpose for this one is for the school market, of course. This will be put to use in July, as long as schools remain open.
That said, I think that it will be both useful and fun for adults as well. The skills, after all, are used in our everyday lives - information gathering, observation, problem solving, and so on.
I’ll have to see who I can talk to to get this started.
2) Health Science
Again, this was made for the school market, but can be useful for those who have aged parents and/or children to take care of.
3) Harnessing Your Quiet Strengths
Now, this one has a little story behind it. It was originally developed for Introverts Network Asia (INA), but things have tapered off for this, so I never finished it, leaving it half done.
I decided to just finish it up. At least I now have a set of curriculum ready to go should I need it, either live or, perhaps, as an online course.
It is, as expected, aimed at introverts and helping them to make use of the strengths that they perhaps regard as insignificant, but are actually highly valuable.
I see this as an accompaniment to The Introvert Teacher, and intend to have them linked together.
4) 4D Your Message
This is my take on communication skills, slightly angled towards newer educators/trainers, but can definitely be used by anyone who wants to get their message out.
This, too, has a story behind it. It was originally conceived for online delivery as part of an initiative by an organisation. But, as with the previous set of content, this, too, fizzled out.
I decided to just have it finished up.
My main thought at the moment is figuring out how to bring these things to more people once Circuit Breaker properly ends.
I've considered online training, but the activities, especially for the first two, are best done live. I could potentially redesign them, but it’s A LOT of work.
Alternatively, I could have them converted to videos and sell an online course. I’m not sure yet.
I’m also finishing up a project I started 2 years or so ago - my book on gem buying, titled A Gem of a Deal.
The good news is:
A Gem of a Deal is NEARLY finished! Yay!
Here’s a cover I designed for it. It may not be the final version, but I’ll use it for now.
I’ll put more information up on Loupin Jewels.
Yes, I designed it myself. Photoshop and Illustrator. ;)
Photographing gems!
It’s quite a long story behind this, but I’ve started to photograph gems again. This time, the results look pretty good, even if I do say so myself.
Sapphire Crystal
Garnet Crystal
Prehnite Cabochon
Emerald Piece
And, of course, I’ve been collating some of my old photos.
It’s been a fairly productive couple of months, I’d say.
Here’s to an even more productive 2 months ahead!
Looking Out For Events
Ever since the learning events I participated in, I've been on the lookout for more to join in. Normally, I'm really apprehensive about such things, much preferring to keep to myself, stay in and think.
However, I have seen how important and useful it is to meet new people. Not only does meeting new people give us chances to help each other, the experience helps me to broaden my outlook and provides more material for ideas.
Already, I have come up with a number of new directions and plans to work on for the next few months. It's going to be pretty exciting to get more ideas.
In this coming week, I'm contemplating attending two events, one on Thursday about networking, and one on Friday, a design-type symposium. No confirmation yet, but they definitely look interesting.