We recently gave a piece of advice to a potential client: “If you’re not quite ready to actively start working with us on building the course you want, just begin by lightly collecting potential ideas until you’re ready.”
Although in this case, the client is waiting for a grant process to be announced that could fund the potential course build, the advice we shared can be applied to almost any important project that for one reason or another needs to happen over a longer period of time. It echoes one of the principles shared in a new book, ‘Slow Productivity’ by Cal Newport. A professor at Georgetown University and a frequent author on the intersection of technology, productivity, and culture, Newport advises us to “work at a natural pace.” He goes on to say, “Don’t rush your most important work. Allow it instead to unfold along a sustainable timeline.”
Waiting and working on something “here and there”, amidst other work, can even make it better. When we turn our attention to something, even ever so slightly at the back of our minds, synchronicity can suddenly start to happen. We might notice a news article about the exact thing we are working on, or a colleague might share a story with a helpful piece of information related to our project. A TED talk on an unrelated subject could offer a relevant tip, or a social media post we scroll by might remind us to write down a key concept about our background project that we don’t want to forget.
And that’s the key, isn’t it? Write it all down. Collect these emerging ideas in a place that’s not too onerous to use and where you won’t forget it. It’s not enough to just notice relevant things that could help us on the way to making something great. Track them somewhere and sort them out later. When Beth wrote her book, Design to Engage, she made great use of the writer’s program Scrivener for its organizational tools. For you, the best place to collect your ideas might be a Miro or Mural board, a simple Google Doc, or even the Notes app on your phone. Choose the spot that works for you.
However, here’s a request: If you’re gathering ideas for a future course and plan to collaborate with us, please keep your collected work rough. Avoid writing learning outcomes, writing actual paragraphs, or developing activities. And definitely don’t start creating a slide deck! By keeping your work rough, we can review it together when you’re ready to work with us. We’ll help you organize and refine your ideas, incorporating learning design concepts and strategies, and prioritizing the needs of your learners. Simply gather your ideas in bits and pieces, and we’ll assist you in shaping and determining the next steps.
Sustainable timelines undoubtedly help us create better work. Let’s all keep reminding each other of this. And remember: If you’re interested in working with us but aren’t quite ready yet, we are happy to have an initial call with you to talk it over. Even if your message is something like, “We’re not ready to work on this yet, but we will be ready in about 6 months,” we’d love to chat! This helps us plan and prioritize your project, and we just might be able to share a few more tips that will help you do some, but not too much, work “here and there” while we’re all waiting for the build to formally begin.
