Alright, so I finally got around to trying out that ‘Brady Stevens’ technique everyone’s been mentioning lately. Heard some folks talking about how it simplified their workflow, so I figured, why not give it a whirl? Always looking for ways to sharpen things up, you know.
First thing I did was clear my desk. Can’t work with clutter around, drives me nuts. Pulled up some notes I’d jotted down about his method. Seemed straightforward enough on paper, but you never know until you actually try it.
I started by trying to follow the initial setup phase he recommends. Took me a bit longer than I expected, honestly. Had to backtrack a couple of times because I missed a step he emphasized. It felt a little awkward at first, not my usual way of doing things. My brain kept wanting to revert back to my old habits.
The core part was interesting. It involved looking at the problem from a slightly different angle. Instead of tackling it head-on like I usually do, the Stevens approach kind of forces you to break it down differently. I spent a good chunk of time just on this decomposition part. Found myself sketching out little diagrams, trying to map it out visually. That actually helped quite a bit.
Then came the actual implementation. This is where I hit a snag. The way he suggests structuring things felt… counterintuitive? I followed the steps, but it wasn’t clicking immediately. Had to pause, reread my notes, and really think about why it was set up that way. There was definitely a moment where I thought, “This is dumb, my old way is faster.”
But I stuck with it. Pushed through that initial resistance. Slowly, piece by piece, it started coming together. It wasn’t fast, not by a long shot. Lots of trial and error. Made a few mistakes, had to undo some work, but eventually, I got to a point where it resembled the intended outcome.
Looking back at the result now, it’s… different. Not necessarily better or worse than my usual output yet, but definitely different. The structure feels cleaner in some ways, maybe more logical if I really think about it. But it also feels less ‘mine’, if that makes sense. Less intuitive, more mechanical.
So, was the practice worth it? Yeah, I think so. It definitely stretched my brain a bit, forced me out of my comfort zone. Will I adopt the ‘Brady Stevens’ method wholesale? Probably not. It doesn’t fit my natural style completely. But there are elements of it, especially that initial breakdown phase, that I might integrate into my own process. It’s good to shake things up sometimes, keeps you from getting rusty.
