Second — completely ReviSed — edition ORGANIZING CREATIVITY How to generate, capture, and collect ideas to realize creative projects. Daniel Wessel with an introduction by Tanja Gabriele Baudson Organizing Creativity How to generate, capture, and collect ideas to realize creative projects. Second — Completely Revised — Edition Daniel Wessel with an introduction by Tanja Gabriele Baudson I would like to thank ... ... the muses who inspired me to write this book, ... Keith Blount and his team for the “Scrivener” writing software, ... the programmers of Circus Ponies Notebook, DokuWiki, and DEVONthink, ... the organizers of the MinD-Akademie 2007 and 2011, ... the participants of my explorative survey about the organization of individual creativity, ... all critics who gave me feedback to improve this work, ... Tanja Gabriele Baudson for the interesting stimulations, ... Eva Maria Reussner for her valuable feedback and for agreeing to be the hand model on the cover of this book, ... the readers and commentators of my blog at www.organizingcreativity. com ... Steven Drennon from writers.stackexchange.com, who recommended the Trademark disclaimer, ... Steve Jobs, he achieved a lot and made even more possible, may he rest however he desires, ... Tanja Gabriele Baudson for writing the introduction to this book, and ... Dylan Damian for proof-reading this book. Thank you. V 2.21 Trademark Disclaimer Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within this book are the property of their respective trademark holders. These trademark holders are not affiliated with the author or any of the author's representatives. They do not sponsor or endorse the contents, materials, or processes discussed within this book. © 2012 by Daniel Wessel. All rights reserved. Cover Image: Copyright by Daniel Wessel, 2008. Cite as: Wessel, D. (2012). Organizing Creativity (2nd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.organizingcreativity.com/oc2.pdf disClaimer Overview I will not and cannot take responsibility, legal or otherwise, of what will happen if you use the information and recommendations in this book. The ways to organize creativity described in this book work for some people, but you have to try out what works for you. Preface 17 There is absolutely no warranty regarding the advice issued in this book. Creativity 29 Organization 39 aCknOwledgments The main part of this book is based on own experiences, conversations with other scientists or artists, and a survey I did about organizing creativity. Organize Creativity! 49 Theoretical aspects are mostly based on the works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Mark A. Runco, and my own thoughts and observations. I. Master the Topic 52 II. Generate Ideas 72 give sOmething BaCk III. Capture Ideas 96 The first edition of this book took me overa year and a half of my life to write, the second edition took another half year and a half. IV. Collect Ideas 124 Time I will never get back. V. Realize Creative Projects 148 Given the amount of my life I have invested in this book, I want to know whether it was successful. For me, "successful" means that other people read it and take something useful from it. VI. Archive Creative Projects 190 I have made this book available as PDF on my blog at www.organizingcreativity.com (note that it is still copyrighted!). I see that people read it (or at least can read it) by the download statistics and the Tools 197 comments/eMails I receive ([email protected]). But this book is not "free" — although the pricing differs from the typical book. You can read it without paying anything upfront. General Tips 261 If you think that it is not useful for you, I respect that. But if you have taken something useful from it, I like to get paid for my work. Money is the most direct and honest feedback you can give — it shows beyond a doubt that what I have done is useful. Resources 359 Thus, you can read the PDF from my website for as long as you want, but if you think you have taken something useful from it, that it helped you, then consider what this help was worth and give me feedback by granting me some money. Afterword 391 You can do this easily on my website at: http://www.organizingcreativity.com/feedback And now, let's see whether you find something useful in this book. :-) Table of Contents Preface 17 The Golden Age of Creativity 19 Executive Summary 21 Introduction by Tanja Gabriele Baudson 23 Introduction by the Author 25 Creativity 29 What is Creativity? 31 How is Creativity Determined? 32 Advantages & Disadvantages of Creativity 34 Responsibility 35 The Idea Process 36 Organization 39 Creativity is More Than Just One Idea 41 Advantages of Organizing Creativity 42 Organization of Creativity 44 Organization of Creativity: Examples 46 Organization of Your Creativity 47 Organize Creativity! 49 Starting to Organize Creativity 51 i. master the tOpiC 52 A Case for Hard Work 53 A Case for Time 54 Having too many Interests 55 Prioritizing Projects 56 Time Management 58 Task Management 62 Work Space 64 Developing Knowledge and Skills 66 ii. generate ideas 72 Conveying Ideas 176 Prerequisites for Generating Ideas 73 Worst Cases in Realizing Ideas 184 Time for Incubation 74 Non-realizable/Canceled Projects 187 Creativity Techniques 76 Success 189 Finding Problems 93 vi. arChive Creative prOjeCts 190 iii. Capture ideas 96 About Archiving 191 Why Capture Ideas? 97 What and Where to Archive 192 How to Capture Ideas 100 How to Archive 194 Things to Keep in Mind in Capturing Ideas 103 How to Archive: Examples 195 Dealing with Social Pressure 104 Missed Ideas 105 Tools 197 About Tools 199 Ways to Capture Ideas 106 Considerations Regarding Tools 200 Having Nothing to Capture 108 Capturing Ideas in Different Settings 109 analOg tOOls 203 Pen & Paper 203 iv. COlleCt ideas 124 Paper: Variable Order 207 Difference Between Capturing & Collecting 125 Paper: Fixed Order 209 Why Collect Ideas? 126 Stationary Writing Surfaces 211 Main Criteria of an Idea Collection 127 Starting an Idea Collection 132 digital tOOls 217 Ways to Collect Ideas 133 Remarks About Digital Tools 217 Using an Idea Collection 136 Web-Based Tools and Cloud Services 219 Collection Inbox 139 digital tOOls: hardware 220 Structure of Individual Entries 140 (Smart-)Phones 220 Structure of the Idea Collection 141 Tablets (e.g., iPad) 221 Storing Reference Material 143 Voice Recorders 222 Protecting Your Idea Collection 144 (Video-)Cameras 223 v. realize Creative prOjeCts 148 Personal Computers 224 About Realizing Creative Projects 149 digital tOOls: sOftware 225 Selecting a Suitable Project to Realize 150 Files & Folders 225 Realizing a Creative Project 153 Text Files 226 Steps in Realizing a Creative Project 155 Mind-Maps & Concept Maps 228 Problems in Realizing a Creative Project 157 Outliners 230 Feedback 160 Digital Notebooks 232 wOrking with Others 282 Digital Notebooks: Circus Ponies Notebook 233 Small Talk 282 Notes Management Systems 236 Remembering People 283 Notes Management Systems: DEVONthink 237 Public Speaking 284 Visual Notes Management Systems 242 Leadership & Advisory 287 Wikis 244 Dealing with Administration 288 Word Processors 252 Group Work 289 Spreadsheets 253 Project Management in Teams 290 Databases 254 Workgroup Meetings 292 GoogleDocs 255 Creative Sessions 294 eMail Programs 256 (Group) Creativity Room 295 Blogs 257 Interdisciplinary Communication 296 mental tOOls 258 Creative Children 298 Using Your Mind 258 Getting the Best Teacher 299 Hostile Environments: School 300 General Tips 261 Hostile Environments: Scientific Community 302 About the Tips 263 wOrking with COmputers 304 wOrking with yOurself 264 Control your Computer 304 Finding Something to Live For 264 Combining Digital and Paper-based Tools 305 Listen to your Own Hea{rt|d} 266 Backups 306 Remembering Aids For Projects 268 Dealing with Digital Failure 309 Depression, Drugs, and Creativity 270 Theft Protection 310 Making a Practical Impact in Science 271 Getting Lost Hardware Back 311 Modify Your Work Behavior Continuously 272 Preventing Unauthorized Access 312 Avoid Creative Glitter 273 (Text) File Shortcuts 314 Becoming a Professional 274 Keyboard Shortcuts and Layouts 315 Dealing with Creative Burn-Out 275 Formatting and Editing Text 316 Ascesis 276 Tagging 317 Digital Lifeboat 277 Digitizing Information 319 Showroom/Motivators 278 Mice 322 Bags 279 Additional Displays 323 Be Skeptical 280 wOrking On speCifiC tasks 324 Be Good with Numbers 281 Academic Work 324 Doing a Ph.D. Thesis 328 Reference Management Software Resources 380 Writing a Book 336 Photography Postprocessing Resources 381 Writing with Content Outlines 338 Collaboration Resources 382 Scrivener Writing Software 340 Drawing/Sketching Resources 383 Content vs. Structure Outlines 344 Academic Work Resources 384 Digitizing Books by Gutting Them 345 Statistic Resources 387 Reference Management Software 346 Presentation Resources 388 Reading Research Literature 348 Reading Digitally 349 Afterword 391 Keeping Topic Notes 350 Your Feedback 393 Project Notebook 351 History of this Project 394 Sketching 352 Final Remarks 396 Time/Effort Calculation 353 Creative Help Sheets 354 Remembering What you Want to Change 355 Using a Task Management Tool 356 Life-Newspaper 357 Resources 359 About the Resources 361 About Creativity Resources 362 Stimulation Resources 364 Organization Resources 366 Information and How-To Resources 367 "Highest Art" Resources 368 Service Resources 369 Text Editor Resources 370 Mind Map Resources 371 Outliner Resources 372 Digital Notebook Resources 373 Notes Management System Resources 374 Wiki Resources 375 Writing Resources 376 Text Layout Resources 379 Preface The Golden Age of Creativity Executive Summary Introduction by Tanja Gabriele Baudson Introduction by the Author prefaCe the gOlden age Of Creativity 19 Today we have more opportunities to be creative than ever. Although our world is “fast-paced”, we have an unprecedented amount of spare time. The Internet not only gives us access to knowledge, affordable materials and tools, it also provides us with new and widely available distribution channels.