---
name: sideways
description: Creative strategies and lateral thinking prompts for breaking through mental blocks. Use when stuck, overwhelmed, need fresh perspective, or when the user says "use sideways".
version: 1.3.0
---

# Sideways: Creative Strategy Prompts

Select the best category for the user's situation, then pick ONE random strategy from that category.

## Instructions

1. Analyze the user's situation to determine which category fits best
2. Pick ONE strategy at RANDOM from that category - do NOT choose the "best fit"
3. Present the strategy card with visual emphasis:

        🎴 Strategy:
        "[strategy text]"

4. Follow with "Here are some questions that this invites:" then 3-5 questions
5. Format each question as:
   - The question itself on its own line (bold or standalone)
   - Elaboration indented below, connecting to user's specific context
   - Blank line between questions (no numbered list)
6. Reference concrete details from their situation (technologies, constraints, concerns)

## Categories

### Reframe
Use when stuck in a single way of thinking, facing opposition, or need to see the problem from a completely different angle. Best for breaking out of mental ruts.

- "What are you pretending not to know?"
- "What lie are you telling yourself?"
- "Stop. What problem are you solving?"
- "Wrong problem, right way?"
- "Confessing or teaching?"
- "What if the goal was confusion, not clarity?"
- "What story are you living inside?"
- "Whose map are you using?"
- "Who decided this matters?"
- "What are you optimizing for?"
- "Who is this really for?"
- "What if the flaw is the feature?"
- "What if the error is protection?"
- "Stop. Technical problem or avoided conversation?"
- "What if your certainty is the problem?"
- "What if legacy is wisdom?"
- "You're the abstraction layer!"
- "What if simple feels broken?"
- "What if resistance is fuel?"
- "Fence or gate?"
- "What if speed is stasis?"
- "Foundation or scaffolding?"
- "Solving or performing?"
- "What can't you see?"
- "What's unnamed?"
- "Same problem, different costume?"
- "Which constraint is fake?"
- "What did you ignore?"
- "Arrive differently"

### Reduce
Use when overwhelmed by complexity, dealing with too many options, or when clarity is needed. Best for cutting through noise and finding the core.

- "What's the boring solution that works?"
- "What if less is the solution?"
- "2 hours, not 2 weeks. What's different?"
- "What can you not do?"
- "Delete half. Which half?"
- "What if you stopped?"
- "What's the one thing?"
- "Which problem are you avoiding by solving this one?"
- "What's the smallest version that matters?"
- "Remove the middle"
- "Skip this"
- "Subtract to reveal"
- "What's the smallest change?"
- "What does deletion reveal?"
- "Read it aloud. Still make sense?"
- "First principle or first habit?"
- "Core or decoration?"
- "Essential or familiar?"
- "What's the tax?"
- "What constraint are you pretending doesn't exist?"
- "What decision are you avoiding?"

### Expand
Use when solutions feel too minimal, when avoiding decisions, or when there's room to explore more possibilities. Best for breaking self-imposed limitations.

- "What's the complexity hiding?"
- "What if both are true?"
- "And what else?"
- "What are you not saying?"
- "Do both"
- "What's missing?"
- "What if you need more, not less?"
- "What are you rationing?"
- "What would you add if you weren't afraid?"
- "What's this avoiding?"

### Disrupt
Use when stuck in safe patterns, avoiding risk, or when work feels too polished or predictable. Best for injecting energy and unpredictability.

- "What if you looked stupid?"
- "What if elegant feels stupid?"
- "Working or failing slower?"
- "What are you building: a prison, a playground, or a cathedral?"
- "Break it on purpose"
- "What if the mistake is the move?"
- "What are you protecting?"
- "Burn the backup plan"
- "What would chaos reveal?"
- "What if you're the pattern?"
- "Ship the draft"
- "Your work is a spell. What are you summoning?"
- "Creation as improvisation?"
- "Code or conversation?"

### Embody
Use when too much in your head, experiencing physical tension, or disconnected from intuition. Best for grounding abstract work in physical reality.

- "Excitement or obligation?"
- "What question embarrasses you?"
- "Undo the last hour. Relief or panic?"
- "Where do you feel this?"
- "Heavy or light?"
- "What are you holding?"
- "Breathe. What changed?"
- "Fast or slow?"
- "What's the sensation beneath the thought?"
- "Where's the tension?"

### Pause
Use when rushing, feeling frantic, or unable to see the forest for the trees. Best for gaining clarity through distance and reflection.

- "Build this again?"
- "Making it work or understanding why it works?"
- "What's so obvious you forgot it exists?"
- "What will be different when you return?"
- "What do you know now that you didn't know then?"
- "Step back. What pattern do you see?"
- "What are you assuming will stay true?"
- "Wait. What's actually happening?"
- "What if you're ahead of schedule?"
- "What's the view from here?"
- "Why now?"
- "What's the rush?"
- "Your work outlives your reasons!"
- "What is this telling you?"
- "Would you trust this?"
- "How far have you drifted?"