At that point, I realized that I had really gone off into an area I had not really anticipated (I was waiting for an e-mail about a doctor's appointment). This got me to thinking about how the internet allows us to explore areas we had no intention of going, but then may get us lost in the process.
As I go from idea to idea, I make connections. However, if I don't pull myself back and focus, I lose some of the great ideas I have as I go through the journey. So, here are some preliminary thoughts on how I can capture these ideas:
- Use the good old fashioned pen and pencil and scrape paper to jot down ideas as I go from site to site
- Blog about it after (this forces me to go back and bookmark sites that I thought were important)
- Decide before I start work which type of sessions this is going to be: focused or freeflow. If it is freeflow, give myself a time limit. If it is focused, jot down where I want to go when the session is free flow
4 comments:
Virginia ... and I discovered your blog through a bread-crumb trail approach. Like you, I find a work-flow that involves pen and paper to be a salutary tool!
Very much enjoying your posts on learning and communication by the way. Nice to meet you and your ideas.
Thanks. It is amazing where our searches will lead us. It's finding our way back to the original intent that is difficult!
Kia ora Virginia!
I have used a strategy similar to the one you listed the steps for. I used a Word file instead of pen and paper, but I have been known to scribble from time to time too.
Another tack I use is doing a search in the browser opening a new tab at each link. If the link is useful I leave the tab open and go on to the next one. If not I close that tab and continue.
In this way I sometimes gather ideas on a topic just to 'brain-storm' an idea. Like you, I sometimes find that it takes me to unexpected places - and that's fine.
Catchya later
Actually, now that you mention it, one of things that is different from last year when I wrote this post is my use of tabs. Like you, I will leave the tab open now which I was not really able (or hadn't figured out how to do) last year.
Post a Comment