A review by bookishlibrarian
Navigating Ambiguity: A Designer's Guide to Creating Opportunity in a World of Unknowns by Kelly Schmutte, Andrea Small

3.5

I picked this one up because I am currently going through a time of professional uncertainty and ambiguity and struggling a bit. This slim little guide talks about ambiguity as an opportunity, a time when there are lots of possibilities before you're locked into one. They also share some tips on the journey from being a person who endures ambiguity to one who embraces it. Some of the more concrete things shared include some dualities of approaches and when to adopt each:  when to slow down and when to speed up, when to zoom in and when to zoom out, etc. There are several checklists for each scenario that I found helpful - though I think they are maybe more applicable to ambiguities surrounding projects or design or when you have a little more control over the outcome than my present circumstances. Overall, it did help in refocusing my mindset around ambiguity in the moment, though I'm not sure how much of it was the book or that I happened to read it during a retreat where I also got to spend a lot of time journaling and reflecting and time spent in nature and meditation. Still, one I might come back to from time to time.