Alright, let’s talk about this Simon Farrell thing I tried out a while back. Heard the name floating around, mostly in hushed tones, like it was some kind of secret sauce for getting things done or thinking differently. Honestly, it sounded a bit wishy-washy to me at first.
So, I decided to actually give it a proper go. First thing I did was try to find out what the heck it actually was. Spent a good few hours searching online, digging through forums, old blog comments. Found mostly fragments, weird anecdotes. No clear manual, no step-by-step guide. It felt like everyone had their own interpretation.
I figured, okay, no official rules? I’ll just piece together the common threads I found. Seemed to revolve around breaking your own patterns, forcing a different perspective. So, I started applying it to this small personal project I had simmering on the back burner – seemed like low stakes if it all went sideways.
My Process Trying It Out
Here’s kinda what I did, based on the scraps I gathered:
- Switching Environment: I forced myself to work in different places. One day in the noisy coffee shop I usually avoid, another day crammed into a corner of the spare room instead of my usual desk.
- Tool Scrambling: Used tools I wasn’t comfortable with. Tried outlining ideas using presentation software instead of my usual text editor. Sketched concepts using a cheap tablet I never normally touch. Felt clumsy as hell.
- Odd Hours: This was the weirdest bit. Based on some comments I read, I tried working at completely random times. Got up at 3 AM one Tuesday to tackle a problem. Stayed late on a Friday when I’d normally be checked out. Messed up my sleep schedule, that’s for sure.
Honestly, it was a mixed bag. Some days, the sheer novelty of it sparked something. Like using the awkward software forced me to simplify, which was unexpectedly useful. Other days, I just felt unproductive and annoyed, like I was fighting my own workflow for no good reason. It reminded me of this one time, years ago, when our team lead insisted we all try pair programming for everything. Sounded good on paper, but in reality, it just slowed us down on most tasks and created friction.
This whole Simon Farrell experiment happened when I was feeling pretty stuck in a rut, work-wise. Same old problems, same old solutions. I was looking for anything to jolt my brain. Trying this felt like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Some of it did, surprisingly. Mostly the ‘change your context’ part.
So, What’s the Verdict?
Did it revolutionize my world? Nope. Not even close.
Was it completely useless? Not entirely. The core idea of deliberately breaking routine to see things differently has some merit. I still consciously try to change my environment or approach if I feel stuck on something.
But the whole ‘Simon Farrell’ thing as a distinct method? It feels half-baked. Too undefined. It relies too much on random disruption rather than a solid process. You can’t really build a reliable workflow on it, especially not if you’re working with other people. Imagine trying to coordinate a team using ‘whatever feels weird today’ as a guiding principle. Total nightmare fuel. It’s like companies that adopt every new tech trend without thinking – you end up with a messy, unmaintainable situation.
So yeah, I messed around with the Simon Farrell ideas. Took a few nuggets away from it. But as a whole system? I left it behind. It’s one of those things that sounds intriguing in a blog post but is messy in practice. Still see the name pop up now and then, and I just kinda nod and remember my week of working at 3 AM with clunky software. Interesting experiment, but not one I’m rushing to repeat wholesale.
