April 1970.
Apollo 13 is hurtling through space, and everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. An oxygen tank has exploded, CO2 levels are rising, and astronauts are about to suffocate in space.
Back on Earth, in a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conference room filled with stressed engineers and bad coffee, someone dumps a pile of junk on a table: duct tape, plastic bags, hoses, and random bits of spacecraft leftovers.
What followed was one of the greatest ‘hackathon’ moments in history (if we’re to believe the filmic rendition).
With time running out, the engineers put their heads together, prototyped a lifesaving air filter using literal garbage, and sent the instructions to the astronauts.
This is the spirit of a hackathon: problem-solving under pressure, with limited resources, and — more often than not — a little duct tape.
And while not all hackathons involve saving astronauts, they should all spark collaborative ingenuity, focus intent, and get you to the result, fast.
Get Your Hack On
Hackathons, like all rituals, require structure to be effective. Here’s how to create an environment where creativity can flourish:
1. Pick a challenge.
At the heart of every hackathon is the question: What are we trying to solve?
The best challenges are specific, ambitious, and achievable. Think: prototyping a new feature, streamlining a process, or developing a functional demo. Good challenges invite fresh perspectives and push people to build something that matters.
Prioritize challenges with tangible outcomes, such as automating repetitive tasks, or improving workflows, as they allow teams to make real progress within the event’s timeframe. Most importantly, ensure the challenge is engaging and rewarding, with deliverables participants can take pride in creating.
2. Create a framework.
Once you’ve chosen a challenge, the next step is to establish a clear framework to guide participants toward meaningful results.
Define the process. How will teams approach the problem?
Outline key deliverables to ensure everyone is working toward a shared goal. Assign roles and responsibilities so that each participant understands their contribution, avoids bottlenecks, and maximizes efficiency. Set clear objectives that align with the overall purpose of the hackathon, ensuring that progress is measurable.
Finally, establish a structure that balances flexibility with accountability, allowing creativity to thrive while keeping teams on track. A well-defined framework transforms an ambitious idea into an actionable plan, setting the stage for breakthrough solutions.
3. Turn up the pressure.
Set a tight deadline. Throughout history, humans have achieved their greatest feats under pressure. Whether building a shelter or racing to land on the moon, time constraints push us to prioritize and innovate. Hackathons harness this principle by imposing strict deadlines.
When the clock is ticking, the brain bypasses unnecessary doubts and focuses on what matters most, often simplifying complex problems into manageable actions. As Daniel Kahneman explains in Thinking, Fast and Slow:
When faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead,
usually without noticing the substitution.
This cognitive shortcut allows participants to stay focused and productive, often entering a heightened state of creativity and immersion — what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called “flow”
In this state, distractions fade, and innovative solutions emerge.
4. Assemble your team.
In everyday work, collaboration often gets bogged down by meetings, emails, and a thousand distractions. A hackathon fixes that. It’s not about bureaucracy or approval processes—it’s about throwing everyone into the same room (or Zoom) to solve one problem together.
Hackathons strip collaboration down to its essentials. Diverse teams brainstorm, troubleshoot, and build in real time, without the usual noise. Whether you’re creating something new or fixing something broken, the key is working together at full speed.
The magic lies in the interplay of perspectives. A designer’s eye for simplicity might blend with an engineer’s precision to create something neither could have achieved alone. Studies in cognitive diversity show that varied perspectives lead to better solutions, not because they agree, but because they challenge each other.
5. Set the mood.
Lastly, the environment is a critical factor in hackathon success, as it shapes focus, creativity, and collaboration.
Equip the space with essential tools like reliable Wi-Fi, laptops, whiteboards, paper, and markers — provide online platforms such as Miro or Slack for seamless virtual collaboration.
Minimize distractions by using a dedicated area free from interruptions and limiting non-hackathon tasks during the event. Keep participants energized with snacks, meals, and drinks — think coffee, water, and quick bites that are easy to grab.
Most importantly, foster a supportive atmosphere that encourages risk-taking and innovation, emphasizing psychological safety, celebrating effort, and making every participant feel valued.
A well-prepared environment ensures participants can focus fully and do their best work.
Hackathons are more than just events — they’re a testament to what humans can achieve when creativity, collaboration, and urgency collide.
They remind us that the best solutions often arise not from endless planning but from diving in, trying, failing, and trying again.
From NASA engineers saving astronauts with duct tape to modern teams building prototypes in a single afternoon, hackathons teach us that limitations — whether of time, resources, or tools — can fuel, not hinder, innovation.
