Use curiosity to guide your thinking. However, you need to track your tinkering through a note-writing system like talahardin. This combination of curiosity, an external system to capture interests and ideas, and a regular practice is a natural way to develop insights.
Using curiosity as the driving force for thinking can only be possible if you write (writing facilitates thinking) and use a note-writing system, which follows a workflow that optimizes freedom (a good workflow optimizes freedom).