The Reasonista Diaries

I’ve been writing The Reasonista Diaries for a while.

Most of this diary is in an electronic folder on my computer. Other parts are on paper, captured in a physical folder. There are other ways, but this works for me, for now.

I find that writing a blog is a door to more ideas. More flow of ideas through my mind. And the more there are, the more good ones there will be. More solutions, more possibilities.

I’ve heard Oprah writes a journal. And, if the movie “The Queen” is representative, so does Queen Elizabeth.

Writing a blog post by hand on paper is one way to “park the mind” – at least the conscious mind – so that the subconscious, intuitive part can come through. This is not the only way. And maybe younger people are just as comfortable doing this via a keyboard.

Or maybe it’s just a habit, which can be chosen, practiced and developed.

I’ll date myself. Back in the day, a theme was something you wrote out on lined paper and turned in to your English teacher. As you made your drafts, you rewrote. You could use index cards to write the parts, or you could literally cut up the papers and tape them together. Still, I had a callous on the middle finger of my right hand, where the pen rested. You get the idea.

Technology hasn’t changed everything about writing. Some of the best ideas come when I’m doing tasks:

• Washing dishes
• Moving the lawn
• Waiting in a restaurant
• Sitting in traffic (I don’t try to multi-task when my attention is needed for driving)
• Planning my day, week or month

When the traffic starts to move, or I get to the knives in the bottom of the sink, or I’m mowing near the street where there could be a rock, I need all my attention for the task at hand.

Otherwise, having something nearby to capture my thoughts – whether a small notebook and a pencil, or perhaps a dictation recorder – comes in very handy.

Whatever works. Capture first, edit later.