Why I exclusively take notes on a whiteboard
I visualise everything. All the time. If I’m in a client meeting, I take notes with virtual post-its. If I’m having an internal discussion about ways we can do things better, or more efficiently in-house, I put it on a whiteboard. Even last week, my colleague and buddy Abimbola Ilori said “Of course you have a Lucid for this!” (a phrase which I love btw). And it made me think about ‘Why?’… why do I document all this stuff on a whiteboard?
Well firstly it’s because I’m a visual thinker
"Pictures are easier for our brains to comprehend than words. The?picture superiority effect?ensures we remember graphical information more readily than anything that we read.” - Kymberly Fergusson, Draw.io
But I don’t think that’s the main reason. How many times have you been to a meeting where things are discussed and then the actions or ideas kinda disappear? Then, unless an action has been specifically called out, everyone leaves and gets on with their lives. The meeting outcomes
It’s not anyones faulty per se, usually it’s time constraints
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“Sometimes a task seems too overwhelming and that you don’t know where to start. So you don’t. The best way to combat being overwhelmed is to the break the task downinto tiny, bite size pieces.” - Jacqueline Sinfield, Untappedbrilliance.com
So I think my need to document on-the-fly is as much about getting over that ‘Starting’ hurdle as early as possible, getting that early view of the 'bite sized pieces'. If I can leave a meeting or discussion with the core ideas and actions already on a board, then we can see what has been discussed, correct anything I may have misunderstood (or attributed to the wrong topic), and we can all go away to focus on ‘doing the thing’ rather than trying to remember what we just talked about. Getting over that post-meeting hurdle right away.
That said, you still need to establish task owners and define actions
What techniques do you use to get going on a task or activity that (at first) seems a little daunting? Are there tools you use to reduce the amount of 'post-meeting' admin?
VP Marketing @ AllVoices | Making workplaces safer ??
1 年|| Re: Are there tools you use to reduce the amount of 'post-meeting' admin? || Spinach.io is an AI tool that captures key points and action items from meetings automatically. It's so nice to start the day with total alignment on what was decided yesterday!
Lead Product Consultant | Helping people solve complex challenges.
1 年Also, if anyone is interested, I’m currently also found here: X (formerly Twitter): @leobarnes Bluesky: @leobarnes.bluesky.social Threads: @leo.barnes
Once Lead Designer for Disney’s The Lion King. Now helping climate tech brands tell their own story...
1 年Started a series of research interviews last week - using sticky notes on Miro boards definitely helps break the observations (and hopefully insights) down into bite sized chunks!
Me too!