I mentioned in my last post that I plan to take part in small cypress’ Small Web July project. One of the key things I want to focus on is developing a regular sketchnote habit. To that end, i’ve set up a new collection for what i’m calling a ’Today List’.
What is a Today List?
A Today List is series of updates in micro form, each focusing on a reflection about the current day. This reflection can be anything - what I experienced that day, how i’m feeling, what i’m thinking - but to make it easier, i’m aiming to answer a prompt such as:
Today I’m grateful for..
Today I’m surprised by..
Today I’m inspired by..
Today I learned..
Today I enjoyed..
The format of each update can be whatever it needs to be, so long as it can be created in no more than 6 minutes. Why 6 minutes? As the 100 days of sketching challenge says, it’s all about exposing ourselves to a new habit in bite size chunks to turn it into a consistent habit. While i’m not committing to 100 days at the moment, I think the constraint is a valuable one.
What format will my updates take?
For the month of July I’m focusing specifically on a Sketchnote format. While I don’t expect to capture anything too detailed, I think this format will be a memorable way to reflect on how I’ve spent my time throughout the month. It will also be an opportunity to develop a sketchnote icon bank: representations that I can refine throughout the month that I can draw on for future, more detailed sketchnotes.
I’m also planning to draw on post-it notes with marker pens, rather than anything digital. The reason for this is two-fold: the inherently small size will force me to really keep my sketches small, and the immediacy of grabbing a post-it and a pen will remove as much friction as possible from the activity. I can also potentially do my doodles anywhere, even on the train if I feel like it. Each day, i’ll take a picture of that day’s sketchnote and upload it to my Today List. If you want to follow my progress, there’s an RSS feed for this collection.
What about you? Are you thinking of taking part in Small Web July? What about starting a Today List?