Last night, before bed, I was thinking about ideas for what to blog about in December. I am interested in doing another writing series, although I was unsure on what topic to write. I still am, but now I have a few more ideas. As inspiration struck – one idea, then another – I started to write notes on my bedroom whiteboard. This is one of two whiteboards I have on which I write ideas.
I wrote one idea: a series where I challenge myself to learn a new CSS rule every day, and document my learnings. Then I started to write more ideas, both on the topic I was thinking about and others, too. I wrote down notes from the day. I wrote down things I need to do. Ideas that have been in the back of my mind for a while came to me, which I studiously wrote down so as not to forget them.
I felt creative.
I love the whiteboard because it is ideal for taking notes. Whenever I have an idea – whether it’s when my coffee is brewing in the morning, or before bed – I can go to my whiteboard and take down a few notes. Sometimes my note is a few words, perhaps an idea that needs more time to mature. Other times, I can fill the board with exploration on a topic. Ideas flow and mature as I expand upon them.
On a whiteboard, all of my ideas are in front of me, in writing.
I can connect the dots between notes. I can cluster ideas with minimal friction. I can use different pen colours. I love using at least two pen colours. I can annotate, too: I can draw arrors or bubbles or anything else that aids my ideas. I have thus far found no digital tool that makes me feel the same way I do when I have a whiteboard in front of me.
I usually use my whiteboards away from technology. Sometimes I have an idea that I want to write down without going to my computer. In hindsight, I think I am increasingly aware that opening my computer to take notes will likely mean I will get distracted by something else – looking at my long pad of digital notes, checking for notifications, etc. Whiteboards, on the other hand, are canvases where I can focus on taking notes.
On my whiteboard right now, I have ideas like:
- 25 days of learning CSS, affirmations, lettering, design patterns, ukulele, website ideas.
- My intention to write a blog post on CSS text formatting rules that I have found useful.
- A reminder to write a blog post of “reflections on whiteboards.” (this post is a manifestation of that note)
- A reminder that I need to come back to work on relevance of my blog search engine.
- A note about how I should blog about hats.
- “The joy of bookstores.”
All of these disparate ideas are together on the whiteboard. Some may become projects. Others may stay on the whiteboard for a while before I clear space to write more notes. Others may exist only as ideas, but inspire something else.
My whiteboard helps me document and remember ideas, explore new ones, and take time out of my day to think. I can do this away from my TODO list and other notes. At my whiteboard, I feel like I can play with ideas.
