Why?

• have been trying to build a consistent writing practice for a long time
• writing habit slipped during my final semester - need to restart practice
• many ideas I want to develop and work through
• need dedicated time to organize thoughts and priorities

Recap: Former Writing Practice

• linear log in a field notes
• reading notes, writing, work log, everything in one place
• periodically tagged and indexed, page numbers and table of contents
• first drafts on paper → final drafts typed
• portable, but in practice only used at home
• mind maps done separately, not well integrated, often discarded
• tracked goals and priorities
• starred (*) “orphan” concepts
• felt like a chore sometimes, did not become a durable habit
• had its charm
• confused process because notebook was both a permanent archive and a space for working through temporary issues

New Mindset: Ephemeral Workspace

• loose leaf printer paper
• Some handwritten pages will be saved and referred to for a long time. Most are just a byproduct of the process
• use stream-of-consciousness (SOC) to prime creativity
• write “in any direction” – grab a new sheet and start organizing and filling concepts, notes, diagrams, however is most helpful to me
• no linearity. can rearrange sheets
• “streaming thoughts”
• triage and organizing is de-emphasized
• keep pages until I’m done with them
• avoid paralyzing workflow disciplines - just title, scratch out, and start fresh as needed
• incremental progress possible on many topics
• reduced procedural overhead
• work should remain relaxing

Workflow Draft

• main procedural habit → pen to paper
• start and default back to SOC any time I’m not actively productive. Goal is to ensure complete thoughts are flowing without interruption.
• when clarity occurs during SOC, can switch to dedicated page
• review SOC pages and harvest anything usable, discard the rest
• collect useful tools for thought: