Notebooks On Notebooks
I have notebooks on notebooks of thoughts and ideas. Usually, I’m inspired by something I’m reading so I write my thoughts down to get them out of my head. Many of those ideas find their way into blog posts. Occasionally, those thoughts turn into a course idea or an experimental learning experience.
Last summer, I picked up an old book by Seth Godin at a second-hand shop and this quote hit me:
“Are you one of those people? One of the people with too many good ideas? The folks who have notebooks filled with notions, or daydreams filled with the future? You’ve certainly met these people. They’re too busy taking notes to get anything done, too busy inventing to actually instigate. To stop this process, one needs to do only two things: Start. And then… Ship.”
~Seth Godin, Poke the Box
I realized that my sketches and ideas aren’t doing me (or anyone else) any good hiding on the pages of my notebooks. It is time to ship… and see what happens.
In fact, many of the ideas I’m playing with right now can be traced back to notes I made years ago. I decided to return to my Wednesday Worksheet Experiment - a personal project that forces me to publish ideas often and experiment out in the open. To ensure consistency I gave myself ten simple rules.
Each worksheet must:
Fit on one sheet of paper (e.g., portrait or landscape)
Function best when completed with a pen or pencil
Take no longer than 20 minutes to complete
Include visual design (i.e., more than a list of questions)
Explore a single aspect of leadership or learning
Reference the original source of inspiration
Include basic instructions for use
Be licensed as a “free cultural work”
Invite conversation and feedback
Ship on Fridays
Consider this my attempt to follow more of Seth Godin’s advice:
Ship creative work. On a schedule. Without attachment. Without reassurance.
~Seth Godin. The Practice.
Watch this space on Wednesday for some fun experiments.
Inspiration
Godin, S. (2020). The Practice. New York: Viking.
Godin, S. (2011). Poke the Box. The Domino Project.
Note: This has been updated from an archived post and republished.