I love Post-it notes. I’ve recovered from my over-affection (I used to barely be able to see my monitor for the Post-its stuck all around the outside when I worked in an office!), but I still find them super-useful for the right job (just less of them in my sight line).
When I’m planning or mapping out something Thing related, like a project or a programme or an event, I find it hugely useful to build up a ‘wall’ of Post-its. And here’s why:
You can scribble down every idea, every piece and every component that needs to get done and then MOVE them around to be in the right group, or place or order to get done in.
Of course, the trick is to take a photo quick before any of them fall of the wall, and then translate your plan into a document or project template so you have a ‘record’, but when you’re at that free-form planning stage nothing beats a big pile of Post-its and a marker pen.
If you worry about getting it ‘perfect’, there’s no chance with Post-its... just get your ideas out of your head and up in front of you then you can start to hone and polish with more process and perfection.
Sometimes I’ll even run events where I’ll encourage people to Post-it entire meeting rooms...
Long live the Post-it when it comes to planning Things–sometimes simple, straight forward and sticky is the best :)
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I love post-its and always make sure I buy them when I’m away. They seem to have such great shapes & ideas abroad.
I have just stripped my study wall and have bought a new pin board all ready for my ideas for my new business so post-its at the ready!
Sounds like you have a stationery habit similar to mine :)
I’m with you on the post-it’s Lucy and it’s how I determined the chapters of my first book. I had all the content but wasn’t sure which order to put it in so I asked for some guidance and one day my meditation showed me Post-its! I thought ‘why on earth am I being shown post-its?’ and then I twigged. I wrote one for each sub-heading, put them all on the back of the door (flipchart not big enough) and then re-ordered them into the relevant chapters. Voila, job done! Love ’em.
Sometimes we can make things more complicated than we need to, right? Glad the magic of Post-its helped with your book!
I recently ran a whole client project using post it notes… its the new way of project planning and far quicker and easier to use then software.
As things are done you can move them to the completed wall, can still be colour co-ordinated. Everyone can see the tasks at a glance and there’s a great sense of achievement with fewer and fewer to address.
Best approach IMHO…
Brilliant! With so much time spent in front of screens some bright squares of real paper can be such a contrast (and relief!) to getting work done.