Creativity Jumpstart - Make a List
My first and favorite creativity tool
Since I first wrote this “Planning” as a hobby and vocation has exploded. Bullet journals, anyone? What used to be a cobbled together mix of word documents and the calendar on my phone, now gets accomplished in notebooks and custom planner pages (that I designed and print for myself just how I like them) - as well as my phone calendar. But the fundamental idea of making lists to jumpstart your creativity has not gone anywhere. And now I have two different Art Journals. Here’s the article, with updates.
"What, really?"
Yes!
I don't mean an ordinary To Do list which is an organizing strategy - except when I do mean a To Do list as an inspiration finding tool.
Making a list, by which I mean actually writing down a numbered or bulleted list, is a fantastic way to get organized and get the creative cogs and wheels moving.
While it’s true that sometimes the first idea or design plan is perfect, most of time, in my experience, the third, fourth or fifth idea is going to blow the off-the-top-of-my-head idea out of the water. I am willing to bet that your ideas for solving your problem or designing your solution will be more innovative, surprising, and creative by the end of your list than at the start.
The act of making a list warms up the mind too, and switches on my imagination.
And of course I strongly recommend actually writing the list down so that you have your indelible record of increasingly interesting ideas and plans.
The trick is to make your idea list longer than you think you need - challenge yourself to write down double your entries, or add another 5 items - more than you imagine are reasonably sufficient.
For example instead of jotting down 10 ideas for future blog posts, I challenge myself to devise 20, and then at the end of 20, I find 5 more in mind waiting to go on to the list.
It doesn’t matter if some of the ideas seem silly. It’s only an idea list, not a legally binding contract.
Here are some more of the creative lists I have made:
List of ideas to bring in more money. In the past that led to the idea of making collage sheets and printables. *This needs to be revisited.
List of figurative sculptures I want to make. This list in turn became a series of ideas for sketches, and informs my purchasing or sourcing of supplies.
Lists of possible character action choices and motivations in my story writing. This is rather specific to writing fiction, but is a great way to come up with surprising plot points and pivots. I like to make separate lists then combine them in different ways. When the reason a character does something changes, the outcome changes even if the action is the same. One thing is certain - this is a cure for writer’s block.
List of different gifts for different family members. This could be a brainstorming type of list made in a concentrated session, or an "open" list that gets added to whenever something cool crops up.
List of books, articles, blogs and magazines I want to explore. This helps me with prioritizing. I only have the same 24 hours every day that you, Oprah, President Obama and Marie Forleo have, and I don't have time to waste on duplicates.
List of short video topics I am planning, which include how-tos and power point type presentations.
Gratitude lists. Every now and then I feel a bit down. The best way to feel better is with positivity. I will write a list of 30 things, as if it were for a month, but all at once. By the time I am down to silly little things like "an abundance of squirrels" I feel great about my life.
A list of dreams and goals. Dreams are general; goals have a timeline and criteria of success. Remember that every goal should be broken down into small doable chunks - so that these specific To Do tasks are part of a road to an end point. Keep listing. It helps.
What about those To Do lists?
To Do lists can become a terrific tool for creative problem solving, especially if they are long. If you are anything like me, you have a very long and ongoing list that might include all kinds of things from business tasks, household duties, and daily reminders.
Do notice what tasks are always put off, postponed, or ignored. That might mean that these are not important, OR that they are ideal to be outsourced in some way.
Here are some strategies and tools that elevate my To Do list:
The To Do list that works best for me these days is Weekly. Then I can allocate specific tasks to different days. I like to number the priorities so that I don’t do the convenient ahead of the important. Well, that’s the intent anyway.
Tasks that are more creative activities, such as my brainstormed lists of writing topics for different outlets including magazines, blog posts, or for a screenplay are a document (usually a Google doc) that I turn into a table so I can add dates. The To Do item in the planner simply reads “Write”.
There are other tasks that come and go. I use my Calendar. I like to put in reminders of deadline items, such as monthly payments, and publishing deadlines.
For larger or long term projects, WorkFlowy is my favorite organizing program. It allows me to stack and divide tasks, and is intuitive. Plus I can click into tasks and add notes and print. I wrote my book by organizing my chapters this way.
Link and regroup
I said earlier that lists are great creativity tools “especially if they are long”. Here’s another reason why I believe that - the killing two birds with one stone aspect. I might write a lengthy list, and then I start seeing patterns and repetitions. I might notice that similar items come up in different places. Maybe I can adapt one piece of writing for two different media. Maybe something I thought would make a great article will translate beautifully into a short how-to video. Maybe the photos I need for a blog post will be great for a printable or other design.
From another point of view, maybe you will start to see patterns in your To Do list - something that repeats regularly, or a repeating time scale. It was from noticing the repeats on my shopping list that I worked out a system for making sure I don’t run out of pantry items.
It’s very simple. I just have one open in use and one in the pantry, which in my house is just a cupboard - so no room for stockpiling. When I run out of the one in use, I add it to my shopping list on the side of the fridge, and pull the one in the pantry cupboard out to use. To start, you do have to buy two, but then it becomes self-sustaining. Never running out of mayonnaise gives me a remarkable feeling of abundance and serenity.
My other productivity secret for my task based To Do lists is to add a time allotted (rather than a deadline, which I tend to ignore unless it has been externally imposed). This will allow several useful things:
Discovering whether I am spending too long on unimportant things. Remember the Time Management Matrix (See below).
Discovering where I am super efficient. Yay.
Discovering where it might be worth getting help in some way - which might bring me back to my list of money making ideas.
Planning my day. If I already have a natural interruption or stopping point built into the day, like a regular errand, it makes no sense to start on a project that will require 4 hours.
Creativity Prompt: Write a list of 10 things, then add 5 more, then 5 more.
Topics to choose from:
Favorite painters, writers, poets or musicians
Favorite individual art pieces
Art galleries or museums in your town to visit
People in your family history that you don’t know much about (to then research)
Favorite or interesting characters from literature or movies - to inspire art pieces
New art making techniques you haven’t tried yet.