Are You a Creator?

There goes tomorrow’s breakfast.

Creators come in different types. Some are big picture types. Some detail types. Some are problem-solvers, and some are storytellers. But if you depend to any extent on your ideas, you need to be sure to keep them in your fence.

A few decades ago, I worked at a job that necessitated carrying an inventory list on a folded-up piece or two of copy paper. I had to keep it with me at all times.

 I am a guy, and most of the time I wear pants. I say that because I usually also had a back pocket, which many of us don’t. But for me, that folded piece of paper was always with me.

Once or twice I jotted down a note of something I needed to do on the back of that inventory list. I expanded it some years to include a pocket-sized calendar as well, but I found that I always had my list in some form.

FINDING the WRITER INSIDE YOU  (And letting it out) – It took me decades before I figured it out! I wish I had had this simple PDF cheat sheet when I started.  CLICK to get it now!

Empty envelope syndrome

In some ways, this list in whatever its form, is also a self-preservation tool. Now that I am used to writing down my thoughts, I also write down jokes and comments I hear other people make. The hundreds of envelopes I used to keep for these, I hoarded in small boxes waiting for a time to transfer to a book- a time that never seemed to come.

This is not that popular with my family.

Flash forward to now. I am still involved in a business involving inventory, now my own business. I am also writing. My lists have expanded. I have tried different computer programs, but I guess I’m just an analog guy.

My lists have become more sophisticated, but no trendier. I use inexpensive composition books like the type used in schools.

Readers, writers, creatives & professionals, you can run with a rough crowd down at the Writer Squeezin’s Ranch – http://eepurl.com/dIiRV1 – if you’ve got the guts!

My Power Book in my back pocket holds my to-do lists, my ideas, my article topics, funny quotes, and every action I need to make to my inventory. I go through these notebooks rather quickly.

I keep two more composition books (the large ones) at my desk. The first book has three sections. They may differ from anyone else.

The first section is my prayer list, the second is my inventory, and the last is my bank register. I can do a lot, first thing in the mornings, with that book. And remember, my Power Book is always in my back pocket.

The other composition book is for my writing ideas and drafts. At least they are all in one place. My list system has probably evolved as much as it is going to after all this time. But I am always looking for ideas to refine it. I love the works of August Birch, and give him a hello!

A Final Thought

The trick is that if you are a creator, your ideas are your greatest resources. Don’t let them get away. Keep them until you can use them.

My ideas may come to me while I’m asleep and be lined up waiting for me when I wake up. They may come to me in the shower, but I finally no longer use empty envelopes for them. And it requires surprisingly little discipline.