To document is to remember
Your creative habits may be small. but keeping the files either physically or digitally scanning them, adding a little date on each day, or writing down things that you are feeling at that moment can count as documenting your work.
In your creative journey, oftentimes, it is just you practicing every day and you believe that you are doing good and you keep on going for years.
However, you don't get the chance to document it.
So, when you want to check the work you did in the past. You can't.
That is why it is really important to document the process. Your creative habits may be small but storing the files either physically or digitally benefits you and your creative journey in ways you can't imagine.
Your creative work doesn't take a lot of time to document.
Adding a date on each page or writing down things that you are feeling at that moment counts as documenting your work.
In this post, I share a few points on how to document and why documenting is important. These are all personal experiences and tips from books, articles, and other sources.
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Documenting our creative habits is important for several reasons.
It helps us to see how far we have come.
Creative habits is a lonely journey until you find your scenius.
A scenius is a group of people doing the same thing as you or willing to amalgamate different ideas.
Until then, you probably are on your own and that is a good thing too but to see the progress of how far you have come - Documenting your work is the only way.It helps us to stay accountable.
Being accountable for creative work is a good thing, but no external habit-tracking apps can help you if you don't personally want to take accountability. Â So, having accountability for your creative work can help you push past your regular explorations, and daily progress will result in some amazing work.It provides inspiration and motivation.
Seeing our past work can spark new ideas for the progress and learning you are practicing now. It can help you transform your old ideas than imitate them.
Many authors and creators have documented their work for years, often in the form of journals or diaries.
For example, the novelist Virginia Woolf kept a diary throughout her life, which not only provided insights into her creative process but also into her personal life and the world around her.
Similarly, the artist Frida Kahlo kept a journal throughout her life, in which she recorded her thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
One of my favorite artist and writer, Austin Kleon has a daily log and journal method that he mentions brings out his best work.
There are many examples not only in the creative fields but blogger, Author, Podcaster Tim Ferris, American Naturalist Henry David Thoreau, World renowned Physicist Madame Curie, and many more.
These documents have since been published and have given readers a unique insight into the lives and creative processes of these iconic figures.
Three sources on how to document creative habits:
Bullet Journaling - A flexible and customizable method that combines elements of a to-do list, planner, and journal, making it an excellent way to document creative habits. This system allows you to create your layout, track progress, and keep track of ideas and inspiration.
Digital tools - There are several digital tools available that can help you document your creative habits, such as Trello, Notion, Obsidian, Tana, or Evernote. These tools allow you to store and organize your ideas, track progress, and collaborate with others.
Mind Mapping - A graphical technique that helps you to visualize ideas and their relationships, making it a great way to document creative habits. This method can help you to identify patterns, connections, and new ideas, which can be valuable when working on creative projects.
My take on documenting is that if you are documenting just enough to make you remember the feeling when you were doing the thing. It is enough.
For example, If I am writing about a new place I have been to, I will write the date, the place, the surroundings, people around me. The fragrance of the surrounding in writing. Maybe there was a pizza cafe and the baking of the pizza released a mouth-watering smell that made you crave pizza. The waft of the beach waves hit the shores on a beautiful evening with skies of pink.
If you are an artist, maybe the documenting process can look like, a date, place, rough sketch of the place in total, an individual sketch of things that caught your attention, the sunset of waves hitting the shore, and with a pink sky.
If you are working on your creative pursuits, remember to document and you will thank yourself in the future for doing it.
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Oh, I almost forgot – Here's the poster for this week.
It is Little Things x Claude Monet
