Staying Organized as a Creative
April 3rd, 2009
Staying organized is something I’ve always been a big fan of. Growing up, my dad knew that if I didn’t make a list for something, it wasn’t going to get done.
He would always ask if I had written something down. He never had to make lists so I never understood why I had to. I would simply forget to do things. Not cardinal things like, brush your teeth or go to sleep, but I have written ‘take a shower’ or ‘eat breakfast’ not to remember, but to be able to cross it off a list.
I like the satisfaction of crossing something off a list. I’ve seen people use check marks and even ink-wasting circular strokes that leave imprints 4-5 pages beneath. I’m a one-to-two-line strike through kinda guy – I like to be able to read what was there for even more sense of accomplishment. Sometimes I even write something down, just to cross it off.
Behance and Knock Knock have great tools for fulfilling any of your strike through needs. I use both for different occasions and have found them both to be very helpful. Behance has a great to-do which I’ve used for project meetings, personal to-do lists, and even site maps for websites I’m working on. Knock Knock has a handy little weekly schedule which helps me not forget a last minute request from a client or to follow up on progressing projects.
Staying organized on the fly is a little different - I go through sticky notes like crazy, have a notebook or two strictly for client meetings, but as far as to-do lists – those range from index cards, loose leaf paper, used envelopes, Beer Books, various tablets, even a sugar packet (once). The table life of these notes is usually short, but sometimes, I make the overwhelming ‘page-long list’. This list can include things that need to be done that day to the next month, or next year to the day I die. Things like ‘buy more beer at grocery’, ‘catch up on design blogs’, to ‘live in the UK’ and ‘get out of debt’ end up on the same list. Mostly this list is just a great form of procrastination, usually more counter-productive than anything. Nonetheless, things get written down and some things get crossed off – all with a little more gratification.
Field Notes is where my resources go and I’ve upheld their slogan – “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.” It’s just thin enough to toss in my back pocket and bring just about anywhere. I have contacts, books to read, music to listen to, links to check out, research on various products I want to buy, artists to further research, quotes, etc
Along similar lines comes Moleskine notebooks. I use Moleskine notebooks for lengthier writings – usually as ‘idea’ books. From more promising ideas to the lame and comical ones, I try to keep these ideas in the same vicinity for reference… and a good laugh. They also have a multitude of other books from museum specific to city notebooks and planners to watercolor notebooks.
In the end, everyone has their own way of staying organized – from paper to paper-less… with technology like iPhones and Blackberrys, applications like iCal and Google Calendar, and even free online to-do list resources, I still have a soft spot for good ol fashioned paper. It’s reliable, easy to come by, fairly efficient, affordable and still the best way for me to ‘write-to-remember’ things not to overlook.
So, it’s your turn. Let me know how you stay organized as a creative. What other resources should I look into for taking notes, keeping organized and making to-dos?
