Notice Collect Process Share: A process for creating a body of work

This sketch is my 1,000th sketchplanation.

(I wrote some reflections on reaching 1,000 in my newsletter )

If you're interested in beginning a lasting creative practice, have a project you've been thinking about starting, or keep noticing interesting things but don't act on them, this is for you.

This is a reflection on the process I found I followed to create this body of visual explanations: Notice, Collect, Process, Share.

1. Notice

It all starts with noticing

We all have our own unique perspective, influences and things that attract us. Noticing is not drifting through life but paying attention to it.

I think it’s possible to develop a habit of curiosity and a questioning approach. But noticing can be as simple as a small mental note when we find something we like. I’m not sure of the best way to cultivate a habit of noticing, but Rob Walker writes a popular newsletter on The Art of Noticing , I’m sure you will find something in there.

Over the years, I have trained myself to notice ideas. They might be ideas I’ve found valuable and found myself sharing with others in conversations. Or concepts in books. Or insights that I think are valuable but not widely known. Or ideas that are not easily accessible and more people could benefit from them.

I’ve been doing this for long enough that people now share ideas with me that they think I should include. It’s great. I learn so much.

2. Collect

Build a collection

For people who want to start a creative practice, I often suggest starting collections.

One quote is an interesting lesson. Many quotes can be a book.

Collecting can be as simple as noting things down in one place—maybe a notebook, or the notes file on your phone. It can be just clicking like or save when you hear a song you like. I started collecting quotes using a to-do list app.

Noting each one down forces you to pay it a little more attention, helps it stick in your memory, and gives you a chance to come across it again.

When you start the simple process of collecting, you can start to see patterns. You can see what fits together, make connections others may not, and discover what really interests you.

My list for future sketchplanations is now many hundreds strong.

A small tip: jot down where you found whatever it is you’re collecting. It’s evident when you note it down, but may not be so obvious when you revisit it, perhaps years later. Your future self will be grateful.

3. Process

Process your collection

You don’t have to do much for this step. Many collections are simply thrown up onto sites like Reddit and people get some value from it. But I think most collections benefit from a little work on each.

It can be a small, consistent action.

Identifying and naming butterflies, or sorting them by location, size or colour, makes the collection more valuable than a shoebox full of photos of them.
Sorting quotes by theme makes it easier to work with them and easier for readers to learn from them.
A collection of songs in the right order is a winning playlist.
A photographer may have a few steps of cropping, adjusting exposure, applying filters and writing a line about each.

It doesn’t have to be much.

In my case, the work has been to try to distil the essence of an idea and share it concisely in a visual with a somewhat consistent style.

Each week I take an idea from the collection and work on it, transforming it, and applying my own process to shape it in my own way. Your processing will be different.

4. Share

Share it

Working on things for yourself is great. You’ll no doubt be happier and take a lot from it. But I think there’s a lot of value in sharing what you create.

I’ve written some reflections on sharing before. Several things start happening when you share your work.

Others have the chance to discover it and benefit from it.
You’ll often raise your bar when you’re name is attached to it.
You’ll begin to think harder about it and do a better job.
If you set out on your work of processing the thing with the idea that you will be sharing it, it encourages you to consider how others might engage with the work and makes it stronger.
Others may provide encouragement, motivation, or support, and it has a better chance of enduring.
You’ll be surprised at what others find most valuable.
You may inspire others and make a small positive change in the world.

Notice —> Collect —> Process —> Shape

One thing that strikes me, looking back, is that you can deliberately work on and improve at each of these steps.

Is there something you already notice that you could start collecting, processing and sharing? I’d love to hear about it.

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I have Dave Gray to thank for helping me with a first draft of Notice, Collect, Process and Share, while working on a session for his School of the Possible .