I'll start off by saying that I spend a solid 10 hours on the computer every day. Sometimes more. It's a lot of time and I get a lot of work done. But I also have a lot of ideas that I want to hold on to. I don't want them floating away into the ether, but I also can't take off every moment I feel inspired and go write my own creative work.
The most effective way I have found to hold on to those ideas, keep them top of mind, and make them easily accessible for later?
Email.
It almost sounds too simple. But here's why I think it's the obvious secret to busting through the harsh cloud of writer's block:
1. Quick: Email is everywhere. It's on your computer, your phone, your tablet. When you have that idea, you can jump over from the work or entertainment you're on the device to do, type out the idea or a list, and email it to yourself, all in less than 5 minutes. I like it because it lets me reserve the handwritten notes and sessions for when I have 30 minutes or so to sit down and do it justice. And becasue an email is digital, it means that I will have it all in one place and recorded- I don't have to copy it over from a handwritten note.
2. Familiar: When I tell people about this, sometimes they want to use an app like Evernote that is designed for organizing random notes and events. I think that's fine too, if you are already using Evernote. The advantage to email is that we all use it all the time. You are using a tool you know backward and forward for a new purpose. If you try doing it in a new program or app, that's another thing you have to learn. I like to keep the format and technical stuff familiar, and just make the idea text new!
3. Search: I LOVE that gmail keeps all of my email forever. I make liberal use of it as an idea bank, because all I have to do is put a few keywords in the subject line and I can find it in a few seconds whenever I need it. No need to organize, no need to futz with folders or worry about memory.
Do you use email as a freewriting medium?
Image source: SparkFunElectronics via flickr
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