 Thinking on Paper
Why the Answer Is Often Already Inside You A month or so ago, I made an interesting discovery—or perhaps I should say, I rediscovered something people have been doing for centuries. Have you ever had a problem that seemed impossible to solve? Then you started explaining it to someone else, only to find yourself stopping halfway through the conversation and saying, “Never mind…I think I just figured it out.” The other person looks at you with a puzzled expression, and you thank them for helping solve your problem—even though they never said a word. I’ve done that more than once. That experience led me to wonder: If simply talking through a problem helps me find the answer, could I get the same result by writing the problem down? The answer, at least for me, was yes. I found that if I wrote as though I were explaining the problem to a trusted friend, my thoughts became clearer. Confusion began to disappear. Ideas I hadn’t considered suddenly appeared on the page. More often than not, the solution had been there all along—I simply hadn’t organized my thinking well enough to see it. Later, I discovered this practice has a long history. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius kept a personal journal—not to publish, but to think. His Meditations were simply conversations with himself, helping him sort through difficult decisions. Scientists, inventors, and writers have long kept notebooks for the same reason. Charles Darwin filled journals with observations and questions. Leonardo da Vinci left behind thousands of pages of sketches and written thoughts. They weren’t just recording ideas; they were developing them. More recently, psychologists have found that writing about our thoughts and problems reduces mental clutter. When our worries stay inside our heads, they compete with one another. Putting them on paper moves them into the open, where we can examine them more objectively. The paper doesn’t judge. It doesn’t interrupt. It doesn’t argue. It simply waits while we think. One of the most respected management thinkers of the last century, Peter Drucker, often emphasized that writing forces clarity. It’s difficult to hide fuzzy thinking once it appears on paper. I’ve begun calling this process Thinking on Paper. When faced with a difficult decision, I simply start writing. I describe the problem. I explain why it concerns me. I write down what I know, what I don’t know, what options I have, and what might happen with each choice. Sometimes I ask myself questions. Sometimes I argue both sides. Sometimes I simply keep writing until something finally clicks. The surprising part is that the answer often arrives quietly—not because I discovered new information, but because I finally saw what had been there all along. Write as if you’re explaining the problem to someone who truly wants to understand. Don’t worry about grammar. Don’t worry about handwriting. Don’t even worry about making sense at first. Just keep writing. You may discover that the person best qualified to solve your problem has been sitting in your chair all along. As the old saying goes, “The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.” I think I’d add one more thought: The blank sheet of paper may be one of the wisest friends you’ll ever have. There’s a quote from the German sociologist Niklas Luhmann that fits beautifully: “Writing is not the result of thinking. It is the medium in which thinking takes place.” I suspect that sentence captures exactly what you’ve discovered for yourself. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©2026
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 Finding Your Creative Time
A Thought for Artists Do you know when your most creative time occurs? Not when you have free time… Not when you’re in your studio… But when your mind seems to come alive with ideas. Have you ever noticed that there are certain times when creativity seems to flow effortlessly? Perhaps ideas seem to appear one after another. You can’t write them down fast enough. One idea leads to another, and before you know it, you’ve filled several notebook pages or a stack of index cards. Then, for days, nothing. Why does this happen? More importantly… Why does it happen at that particular time? What contributes to it? Is it the time of day? The quietness of the house? A walk you just took? Reading a good book? Listening to music? A conversation with a friend? Or perhaps simply allowing your mind the freedom to wander. Most of us never stop to ask these questions. We simply enjoy those creative moments when they happen and wonder why they don’t occur more often. Perhaps it’s time to become a student of our own creativity. ⸻ A Little History Throughout history, many creative people eventually discovered that they did their best work at certain times of the day. Ernest Hemingway preferred writing at first light each morning when his mind was clear. Maya Angelou worked during the quiet hours of the morning in a simple room free from distractions. Georgia O’Keeffe often painted early in the day when both the light and her concentration were at their best. Winston Churchill, on the other hand, often found his greatest clarity late at night. Different people. Different schedules. One common discovery. Each learned to recognize when creativity naturally appeared and then protected that time. Modern psychology refers to this as our natural rhythm or chronotype, recognizing that each person’s brain has periods when it performs at its best. Artists have probably known this for centuries—they simply gave it different names. ⸻ Your Challenge For the next 30 days, don’t try to force creativity. Instead… Watch for it. When one of those wonderful creative periods arrives, stop for just a moment and record what happened. Don’t worry about why. Simply collect the information. After several weeks, you may begin seeing patterns you never noticed before. ⸻ Your Creative Time Log Each time you experience a creative burst, record the following: Date Time Started Time Ended Energy Level (1–10) Where was I? What was I doing just before the ideas began? Examples: Reading Walking Driving Editing photographs Gardening Listening to music Having coffee Talking with someone Sitting quietly Watching the rain Then ask yourself: How many ideas came? Perhaps record: • Notebook pages written • Index cards filled • New project ideas • Photograph ideas • Titles • Sketches Finally… How did I feel? Calm? Focused? Excited? Peaceful? Unable to write fast enough? ⸻ What Are You Looking For? After a month, read through your notes. You may discover things such as • Most of your best ideas arrive after 9:00 p.m. • Reading before bed sparks creativity. • Long walks seem to unlock new ideas. • Rainy afternoons encourage deeper thinking. • Ideas appear after meaningful conversations. • Quiet surroundings help your imagination flourish. • Certain places seem to inspire you more than others. Once you begin recognizing these patterns, you’ll no longer be waiting for inspiration.You’ll be learning where and when inspiration usually finds you. ⸻ One Final Thought Artists spend years learning to observe light. Perhaps we should spend a little time learning to observe ourselves. Your greatest creative tool is not your camera…or your paintbrush…or your pencil. It is your mind. The better you understand how it works, the more often you’ll discover those remarkable moments when creativity quietly arrives. So rather than asking,“How can I become more creative?” Perhaps a better question is,“When am I naturally at my most creative, and how can I make room for more of those moments?”You may discover that your greatest source of inspiration has been there all along……simply waiting to be noticed. “My Creative Time usually begins around "____________________________________________.” |
