Small, sideways nudges for hard problems.

Why it works

Are you stuck on something? A random suggestion from outside your thinking can stimulate you to consider a new approach.

The cues are deliberately short and open. Your own interpretation is where the useful thinking happens.

How to use it

• Name the problem first. Even one sentence.
• Take the first reading that moves you. There’s no correct interpretation.
• Don’t over-draw. One card held for a few minutes beats ten skimmed in a row.
• Keep what lands. Save useful cards to your notebook.

Where the idea comes from

Sidesteps owes a debt to Oblique Strategies, the card deck Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt made in 1975 to help artists through creative blocks. This deck takes the same idea and points it at everyday problems: practical, technical, and personal, not just creative.

Many of these are strategies that I used myself in my life as a professional programmer, spiritual seeker, and hobbyist musician. Whether you're reconciling cosmic paradoxes or tackling a mundane household problem, sometimes you just need a change of perspective to get unstuck.

Privacy

There are no accounts. Whatever you type, and the cards you keep, are stored only in your browser’s local storage.