NORTHERN PLANNER

Tubing is a popular little activity for American frat boys that consists of sitting in an inflatable doughnut and watching the world go by as you recline with a beer down a 3 or  mile waterway.

It's a decent way to see the world outside, come accross lots of stuff you wouldn't otherwise without too much effort.

I like that, the thought if drift, not fighting to stay still, not madly trying to stay ahead of the pack either. It's the opposite of being a luddite, but also the opposite of being a hipster, just doing something because it's new and cool.

It's the relaxed, but alert state when you roll along with the tide, soaking up the new stuff as you come accross them, letting things connect. Alert passiveness I guess – not wanting to stand still, but not jumping on the next big thing like some skinny jean wearing idiot who thinks Shoreditch is so over.

It's also doing seemingly pointless things, reading pointless stuff, having pointless conversations –  and actually where some of the best ideas happen, where things connect as if by magic.

It's a valuable skill for planners to have, to soak up everything, create those opportunities for things to suddenly fit together. 

Of course, it's a fact that the most successful creative people simply work harder than everyone else, but I think that also means working hard at drift and having a third eye that's always looking for stuff no matter what you're doing.