Brainstorming and Organization
I use index cards as brainstorming tools
My favorite cards are 5 x 8. There is plenty of room to write concepts in LARGE block letters that can be seen from across the room.
and I use a Moleskine notebook for longer writing on the go, because I no longer carry an iBook with me everywhere.
If you have a lot of thoughts streaming through your head when you are out on walks, in cafes, at parties, or doing yoga, check out the Moleskines. There is nothing even close. It is just a little black notebook, but they do it Italian Style. Just so much better, the cover is better, the paper is better. This is the Ferrari of little black notebooks.
The Moleskine is about $10 instead of a cheap one for $3.
I discovered them about 6 years ago, after writing Meditation Made Easy, and before Meditation Secrets for Women. Camille and I were in a Barnes & Noble, and I said, "I need a new pocket notebook." We went over to the blank book section and I grabbed a little black notebook. Then the Moleskine caught my eye and I picked one up, saying, "Tell me why I should spend TEN DOLLARS on a little notebook." As I touched it, I could feel the quality, how perfectly they did it. I bought one, filled it, bought another, filled it, and another.
Recently, and much to my amusement and delight, there have sprung up entire Moleskine cults on the internet. There are lots of people like me who use computers every waking moment almost, who relish writing with ink on paper when possible.
43 Folders Moleskine-worship.
Moleskine official site. Interesting. One of my main motivations in getting a reseller's license is so I can order Moleskines wholesale and give them as gifts.
No matter what you are writing, don't just stare at computer screens all day. Go out for walks, go to cafes, go to parties, and have writing materials with you at all times. Simple 3x5 cards and some pens, or a Moleskine, or/and a Sidekick, or even a simple phone you use to call yourself and dictate short notes you will later transcribe.
I do much of my brainstorming on 5x8 cards, because they are so large you can read the writing on them from across the room. All my books were laid out on the floor on 5x8 cards before being written. First the brainstorming, the basic ideas. Then the ideas, one per card. Then each paragraph idea. I spread them out, covering the living room floor, and move them around to see where the chapters are. I can clean them all up, in order, and put them in their box, in 2 minutes.
These are the notes from a 10-minute brainstorming session having to do with yoga concepts such as RASA, MUDRA, YANTRA, MANTRA.
This is the chapter layout of Meditation 24/7 at some stage of our brainstorming