dream. do. relax. (ddr) as a process, has its roots in the project management system as laid out by the Project Management Institute. I was first introduced to it when I embarked on the journey of obtaining my Project Management Professional (PMP) cert (#1571026) from PMI in 2013.
The PMP journey was an insightful one for me allowing me to more fully grasp the detailed processes behind my work, and even my dreams. I felt the result was a better ability to break down the work to find improvement and overcome obstacles.
The PMI process is a well established system, the beauty of which can work on washing your car or building a rocket or anything in between. At a high level, it includes 5 Process Groups, 10 Knowledge Areas and 49 Processes all detailed in an almost 500 page resource called the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). And that is the summary. So, when applying my PMP to the creative world I worked in, I found I needed some adjustments to make it more accessible. The ddr approach of project management for creatives evolved from that point.
ddr as a process divides into three parts creating a repeatable whole. The goal was adding simplicity and repeatability without losing the very useful and fundamental insights of the PMI process that I found allowed me to find exactly where I was in the process at any give time.
The disciplines defining ddr are:
• DREAM: Know what you want.
• DO: Use what you know.
• RELAX: Know what just happened.
The graphic below illustrates a singular cycle. Each repeated cycle builds momentum through accumulated expertise and efficiency, allowing improvements in real time or in the next iteration. An accessible, adaptable process that adds momentum for your imagination.
The content of this blog will extrapolate that process out to see how thinking this way can affect your work, your dreams and your life.
