The Mindless Work LADDER

Innovate and ideate like the best tech entrepreneurs in the world. Climb down the ladder on a daily basis as a part of your Slow Create cycles.

Learn how to invent, ideate, & innovate while doing mindless work.

The Mindless Work LADDER: A Key Part of the Slow Create Framework

Average Joe highlights the already effective and powerful creative processes at work within the tech industry. But it also introduces new models that can help to create tech products—or create anything actually. It's a highly accessible process for ideation and problem-solving that literally anyone can follow.

Dr. Jesse Rissman, PhD

In the Winter and Spring of 2020, a software architect, (Shawn Livermore), collaborated with a cognitive neuroscientist, (Dr. Jesse Rissman, PhD). Together, between March and June of 2020, they created a simple, repeatable, and accurate system that can be used by anyone to create, refine, and iterate on ideas or problem domains.

Dr. Jesse Rissman, Ph.D., is a cognitive neuroscience expert. He's an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry & Bio-behavioral Sciences at University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA). Dr. Rissman earned his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley before completing his postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford.

He directs a research lab that focuses on the interplay of attention and memory, with transcranial brain stimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study neural circuits of  cognitive processes.

The Mindless Work LADDER

As a key component of the Slow Create Framework, and using the Default Mode Network and Resting-State Functional Connectivity (RSFC), this LADDER acronym will help anyone ideate and create in ways that are closely aligned with how the brain actually works. Using either the Canvas or the Pipeline, you can “climb down” the LADDER acronym, while performing mindless work tasks.

Examples of mindless work would include:
Quietly walk/run, relax in a hammock, enjoy an easy hobby, take a shower, fold laundry, go bird watching, play an instrument, take a quiet car ride, golf alone, organize/sort items, etc.

It's recommended by Dr. Rissman that this process be allowed between 10 and 60 minutes in duration.

An Acronym

LADDER

L: Loosen  
Ease your grip on the details of the unsolved. Allow yourself to 'let go' and relax. Focus on the mindless work task you are engaging in. Examples of mindless work would include: A quiet walk/run, relaxing in a hammock, enjoying an easy hobby, taking a shower, folding laundry, bird watching, playing a musical instrument, taking a quiet car ride, golfing alone, organizing/sorting items, (10-60 min).
A: Antenna
Become an antennae; listen to the quiet; not overly eager; avoid frustration; Be completely OK with any result. If you pressure yourself, the brain remains in the ECN, (Executive Control Network), where all your active decision-making takes place. But if you start listening and relax-your-way-out, you'll find yourself becoming more of an antenna. Ethan Hawke describes this well, in a quick video segment about acting, directing, and song creation.
D: Daydream
This is where you really are out of control of your own thoughts. Hopefully your mind is daydreaming about simple, fun, or light ideas, and nothing too heavy. The ideal scenario would be to bait the hook so as to somehow include on your daydream adventures some of the work you've been doing or problem domain you've been working within.
D: Drift
Mind wanders completely away from the problem domain. The brain's ECN, (Executive Control Network) is primarily shut off, and the DMN, Default Mode Network), is actively firing. Nibbles of synthesis may take place during this time. Give the most time to this phase.
E: Emerge
Break the circuit and consciously return to unsolved.
R: Recharacterize
Introduce the nibble of synthesis to the unsolved; Watch for inflections. There are often moments of Little-c Creativity that surface through these LADDER episodes.
Average Joe Concepts
Let's take a quick tour of what's in Average Joe.
-Shawn

“This book is a must-have for all tech start-up founders and entrepreneurs.”

Sean Ellis, originator of Growth Hacking

“A brilliant piece of work for product teams and creators.”

Jeff Sherwood, Product Consultant

“My brain hurts. The concepts in this book are so good.”

Chris Andrade, Tech Startup Advisor

“I want my entire company to read this book.”

Troy Hoffman, CEO

Watch the Book Trailer Videos

Book Trailer #1

The Tech Genius Is A Myth

Book Trailer #2

Average Joe Conceptual Fly-Over

Trailer 2 (COMING SOON)

Global Book Frenzy Apocalypse

Join me on the journey, from average to genius.

-Shawn Livermore
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