By Gloria Hildebrandt

I sometimes enjoy solving a puzzle - a big, beautiful photograph made up of 500 or 1000 interlocking pieces. I do it for relaxation and the growing sense of achievement as the picture starts coming together. I was surprised, however, to realize that solving a puzzle was teaching me useful insights that I can apply to work and business.

Do you have an ambitious project ahead of you? See if my experience gives you anything to apply to your own work. Here are the business insights I’ve learned from solving a puzzle.

1. Solving a large puzzle with perhaps 1,000 similar-coloured pieces is a big project that’s not easy. It takes time, space and mental focus. Don’t expect to complete it without effort.
2. You’ll need plenty of room to lay out the pieces and the developing picture. Make sure that you have enough work space to spread out the puzzle and see what’s in front of you. It will have to stay there for a while. Get yourself well organized.
3. It could take a lot longer to finish a big puzzle than you think. You probably won’t be able to finish it in a couple of sittings. Keep coming back to work on it as you have time. You can make steady progress in small steps.
4. Some days you won’t be able to put a single piece in place. No piece you pick up will fit anywhere. You will spend the whole time trying pieces without luck. You may find this very disheartening, and wonder if you won’t be able to complete the puzzle. Don’t give up.
5. Other days, the pieces will seem to leap into place. The first place you try a piece will be the right place. You will be amazed that three and four pieces in a row go right into place. This will seem like a miracle, and puzzle solving will be a lot of fun.
6. You never know which kind of a day it will be. Go ahead and work on the puzzle anyway, having faith that the days when it’s easy will come along again.
7. Taking a complete break from the puzzle for several days is not necessarily giving up on it. Sometimes you get sick of the big task and need to clear your mind of it completely.
8. Applying fierce will and determination to the puzzle doesn’t bring greater results. Forcing yourself, for instance, to try every single piece in a particular location until you find the one that fits, doesn’t always work. You can make mistakes and miss something.
9. Patience and persistence bring the most results. Keep going back to the puzzle day after day, working on it a little bit, and some days you’ll make great progress.
10. Trying a piece in a place where you’re sure it couldn’t possibly fit can surprise you with good results. Try new things and be open to new possibilities. Don’t be quick to dismiss an unusual approach.
11. Playing with the pieces, moving them around, helps you to distinguish their shapes and colours, remember them, and see possibilities for where they might fit. Sometimes, what seems like aimless, idle fooling around, is actually constructive work.
12. The smallest details in puzzle pieces can be the biggest clues to finding their place. A line through the piece or a spot of colour will match up with something in the puzzle. Notice the small details sometimes; don’t just always focus on the big picture.
13. Getting started and finishing up a puzzle are both easier than working on the middle. Some parts of the puzzle, like the edge and brightly-coloured sections, will be obvious to fit together at the start. Toward the end, you have fewer pieces to work with, which makes them easier to fit together. Midway through is the toughest, because the easy parts have been done but finishing seems hopelessly far away.
14. Go ahead and work on whatever part of the puzzle you want to that day. Have fun and enjoy the process. You don’t have to work in a methodical order - in fact, it may not even be an effective way to work. Work on whatever part draws you that day.
15. Looking at the puzzle from a new angle, either from the side or the top, helps you see patterns in a new way. You might see solutions that you didn’t notice before.
16. Although completion is the goal, the enjoyment comes from working on it. Don’t be so goal-oriented that you can’t enjoy the process.
17. When you’re finished the puzzle, you’ll only want to start another. Learn to appreciate the stages you go through, so that next time, you have a better understanding of how you achieve success.

You should be able to reread these lessons and substitute “project” for “puzzle.” And reading the sentences in bold font will give you the key insights I learned. Who knew that playing could give you wisdom for your work?

Gloria Hildebrandt of Orchard House Communications is a writer, editor and communications consultant for businesses, organizations and community groups.