Creative problem-solving techniques for breaking through stuck points - includes collision-zone thinking, inversion, pattern recognition, and simplification
A collection of techniques for breaking through stuck points and finding elegant solutions.
Location: when-stuck/SKILL.md
Start here when stuck. Matches your stuck-type to the right technique. Quick dispatch table for routing to the appropriate sub-skill.
Location: collision-zone-thinking/SKILL.md
Force unrelated concepts together to discover emergent properties. "What if we treated X like Y?" Revolutionary insights come from deliberate metaphor-mixing.
Location: inversion-exercise/SKILL.md
Flip every assumption and see what still works. "What if the opposite were true?" Exposes hidden constraints and alternative approaches.
Location: meta-pattern-recognition/SKILL.md
Spot patterns appearing in 3+ domains to find universal principles. Extract abstract forms that apply across domains.
Location: scale-game/SKILL.md
Test at extremes (1000x bigger/smaller) to expose fundamental truths. What breaks? What survives? Extremes reveal what normal scales hide.
Location: simplification-cascades/SKILL.md
Find one insight that eliminates multiple components. "If this is true, we don't need X, Y, or Z." Look for unifying principles.
| How You're Stuck | Use This | |------------------|----------| | Don't know which technique | when-stuck | | Need breakthrough innovation | collision-zone-thinking | | Forced by assumptions | inversion-exercise | | Same issue in different places | meta-pattern-recognition | | Unsure about production scale | scale-game | | Complexity spiraling | simplification-cascades |
Conventional solutions inadequate? → collision-zone-thinking
"This must be done this way"? → inversion-exercise
Same pattern 3+ places? → meta-pattern-recognition
Will it work at scale? → scale-game
Same thing implemented 5+ ways? → simplification-cascades
"One powerful abstraction > ten clever hacks"
These techniques help you find the elegant solution that makes complexity unnecessary, rather than managing complexity through brute force.
Google Workspace CLI for Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Contacts, Sheets, and Docs.
Manage Apple Notes via the `memo` CLI on macOS (create, view, edit, delete, search, move, and export notes). Use when a user asks OpenClaw to add a note, list notes, search notes, or manage note folders.
Work with Obsidian vaults (plain Markdown notes) and automate via obsidian-cli.
Use when you need to control Slack from OpenClaw via the slack tool, including reacting to messages or pinning/unpinning items in Slack channels or DMs.
Manage Apple Reminders via remindctl CLI (list, add, edit, complete, delete). Supports lists, date filters, and JSON/plain output.
Manage Trello boards, lists, and cards via the Trello REST API.
Category:productivity