"Thinking differently" is a phrase we use a lot, so it's worth saying what we mean by it.
Not a label
We at Ilanji don't use it to sort people into groups. It describes something most of us have to some degree: our own way of taking in the world, holding things in mind, starting tasks and finishing them. Sometimes that way doesn't match how things around us are set up.
We don't need a name for it
Some of us have always known our minds work in their own way, and some of us have a name for it. Others are only starting to wonder. Many of us never look for a name at all. We just know some things take us more effort than they seem to take others.
It doesn't matter which of these we are. None of us needs a name, or a reason, to find something hard.
Where it shows up
Often it's in small things:
- getting started when a task is open-ended
- holding several steps in mind at once
- reading a long page while our attention keeps sliding off it
- a plan that made sense yesterday and doesn't today
- a busy room, a busy screen, a busy day
Most of us recognise at least one of these. For some of us it's most of them, most days.
Who we have in mind
When we design, we start with the people who find these things hardest. That's a deliberate choice. What makes something easier for someone who struggles with it usually makes it easier for everyone else too. Clear steps, plain words, a calm screen and room to go at our own pace don't get in anyone's way.
So we aren't making things for one group of people. We start there, and leave the door open for everyone else.
The friction is in the fit
School, work and everyday admin suit some ways of thinking better than others. That doesn't make any of us worse or broken. It means there's friction where the fit is poor, and over time it adds up.
We'd rather reduce that friction than ask any of us to change how we think.