We’ve all been there – stuck in the mud of decision fatigue, tangled in uncertainty, or spinning our wheels without traction. Sometimes the more we think about our next step, the fuzzier things feel. That’s where a powerful yet playful idea borrowed from the world of coding can bring surprising clarity: rubber duck debugging.
What is Rubber Duck Debugging?
In software development, programmers keep a rubber duck on their desk. When they hit a problem, they explain their code line by line to the duck. The duck doesn’t respond, of course – but the act of talking it through out loud often sparks the “aha” moment they need.
It’s not about the duck. It’s about slowing down, verbalising, and hearing your own thinking in a new way.
Beyond Career Coaching: A Tool for Life’s Stuck Moments
Although my professional roots are in career development and teaching, I’ve learned that the tools I use to help people explore careers can just as easily help them navigate any kind of stuck moment – whether in work, wellbeing, relationships, or big life changes. Rubber duck debugging is one of those approaches that stretches beyond the boundaries of career coaching and into everyday problem-solving.
Applying It to Getting Unstuck
By explaining our hopes, challenges, and choices to something as simple as a rubber duck, we create space to:
- Untangle thoughts – speaking aloud forces clarity.
- Notice patterns – recurring themes often emerge when we tell our story.
- Spark self-insight – sometimes the solution is already in us, waiting to be heard.
Creative Practices to Try
Here are a few ways to use the “rubber duck” idea when you feel stuck:
- Duck Debugging Dialogue – Place a duck (or any object) in front of you and explain your situation. What challenge are you wrestling with? Say it all aloud.
- Ask the Duck – Imagine what advice the duck might give. It’s a creative way to step outside yourself and hear things differently.
- Milestone Ducks – Line up several ducks (or paper cut-outs) and label each with a step toward your goal. Seeing progress as a row of ducks can make the journey less overwhelming.
- Decorate Your Duck – Customise a duck with symbols, colours, or doodles that represent your strengths and future vision. It becomes a tangible reminder of what you’re working toward.
Why Play Matters When We’re Stuck
Being stuck often feels heavy. Creative play lightens the load. A rubber duck may seem unusual, but that’s the point. The simplicity lowers pressure, bypasses self-criticism, and invites new perspectives. It’s easier to “unstick” when we create a little space for curiosity and imagination.
Where These Ideas Began
I first shared these ideas in May this year at Fuddle on the Rhine in Cologne, a creative gathering of career development practitioners from the UK, Germany and Australia. (Cologne themed rubber ducks were even included in the Schultüte resource packs, everyone received).
The ideas for using rubber ducks to get unstuck come from one of the resources I’ve created: “The Bonkers Book of Stretch-the-Box Coaching Activities” (there are more ideas for using rubber ducks in the book).
Like many of my tools, it’s designed to help people find clarity and possibility by approaching problems from fresh and playful angles.
Final Thought
Getting unstuck doesn’t always require grand strategies. Sometimes it’s as simple as talking things through – even with a rubber duck. The next time you feel jammed, try this creative pause. You might be surprised at the clarity that surfaces when you give your thoughts a chance to float.
Jenn Barfield - Holistic Career Development Coaching 