Creative Reminders

5 Ways to Slow Down Time

I found a stack of post-it notes in a drawer, marked with a single word:

REMINDER.

What do I need to be reminded of?

• To stop speeding through life from one task to the next.

• That my days are not one giant to-do list, one day to be crossed off completely.

• That a simple act of creating can slow down time—and expand a snippet of time into something more valuable.

I started writing myself creative reminders. Ways to slow down time. For less than half an hour, I escape my required tasks and wander. Doodle. Experiment. Play.

Here are five creative reminders for this week:

1. Go for a Walk

You’ll need: 15 minutes, a comfortable pair of shoes, no phone

If it’s cold, bundle up. If it’s hot, bring water.

Just you, the outside world, and your thoughts. Terrifying, right?

Notice something new. Something unusual. Something ordinary you pass every day but never pay attention to.

Return home. Open your notebook. Jot down what you saw. Illustrate with simple sketches, if you’d like. Keep noticing.

2. Draw a Tree

You’ll need : 3 colored pencils, a sketchbook

Find an interesting tree. One that speaks to you with its unique shape and personality. Try to capture its essence.

Use a cool color for shadows, a warm color for line and form, and a bright color for highlights.

Think you know what a tree looks like? Don’t assume. Nature makes weird shapes.

Next time you go out, you’ll notice new trees, new shapes to draw. Capture them in three new colors.

3. Write an Onomatopoem

You’ll need: a pen and notebook, your ears

Onomatopoeia: the use of words whose sound suggests the sense.

Onomatopoem: the use of sound words to create a composition in verse.

Find a place to sit and write. The noisier the better. Transcribe all the noises you hear. A passing jet. A flock of geese rising with honks like crazed laughter. A plastic bag thrashing about in the breeze. Bits of overheard conversation.

Right now it looks like gibberish. Or an e. e. cummings poem before editing.

Maybe it can be edited into something more sensible. Maybe will work as a poetry comic?

4. Take a Nap

You’ll need: a lawn, a blanket, a pen and notebook (hat, sunglasses, and mosquito repellent optional)

Close your eyes. Just for a few minutes. Pull the brake on your train of thought. Breathe.

Five minutes, fifteen minutes, half an hour later—wake up. Jot down your thoughts, dreams, invitations to wonder.

5. People Watch

You’ll need: a pen, a notebook, a bit of unselfconsciousness

Find a crowded public place: a park, a campus, a plaza. A shopping mall, if you’re a time traveler heading back to the 1990s. If possible, sit in a place with a good view of the crowd.

Draw the people you see. Capture posture, poses, movement, dress, and personality. Don’t focus too much on detail. Thumbnail sketches work best—by the end your page will be filled with figures, each wholly unique.

Bonus: Draw them even though they know you are looking.

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That’s all for now—there are blossoms on the branches outside my window and buds have begun unfurling into small, perfect leaves.

I’m headed outside to draw more trees.

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My new book THINKING ABOUT THINKING will be published worldwide next month.

You can pre-order it wherever books are sold and receive a signed, personalized copy with a custom tote when you purchase it from my local independent bookstore, Watermark.

Thank you for your support!