Digital Gardens
Using Sublime to nurture unfolding creative hunches, shift from productivity to creativity, and share raw process.
TRANSCRIPT
And so basically we created a collection and it was just the two of us initially. We've brought on a few more collaborators now.
And initially we were just like every spark that related to that kind of thing that we were exploring would add to that collection on Sublime.
Once there was enough of like a pile of mess there, I would then kind of stare
... See moreAnd lastly, this part’s key – you have to forget everything you think about how to organize your notes. Folders are fine for tax documents, but they’re a dumb way to organize ideas. Your job isn't to arrange everything into neat categories—it's to create meaningful contexts.
Sari Azout • What Matters in the Age of AI Is Taste
Building a knowledge library for creative work (Dec 2024 workshop w Sari Azout)
youtube.comI'd like for sublime to be a place for ideas —
a map that organizes them,
a network of trails that connects them,
a town-square for serendipitous encounters with them,
a laboratory to experiment with... See more
Guiding Questions for Naming Collections
When creating a new container, ask:
“Where do I want this idea to take me?”
or
“What larger story is this note part of?”
or
“What theme am I slowly building without realizing it?”
That’s how you end up with containers like:
Creator Compass
Now That’s Cool
God Is a Designer
Idea Weather
Things I Want to Be True About Me
W
The Non-Literal Home for Ideas
(aka: Why “Creator Compass” beats “Creativity” every day of the week)
Most people name their notebooks like they’re labeling bins in a garage:
“Creativity”
“Parenting”
“Career”
“Ideas”
These containers feel tidy, but they’re actually sterile. They don’t invite you back. They don’t shape your thinking. They don’t function as
... See more🍂Leaf-pile Thinking
When shared ideas reveal the season we’re in
I took a photo of a cluster of fallen leaves on the sidewalk—different colors, different shapes, different trees—and it struck me as a perfect picture of what happens when people share ideas.
Each leaf has its own story:
its own tree, its own chemistry, its own timing in the season.
Some
... See moreEcclesiastes for Digital Gardeners
Building a thought garden isn’t just about collecting ideas — it’s about knowing when to do what with them.
“There is a time…”
is not just ancient poetry.
It’s a digital garden operating system.
A time to keep silent and a time to speak.
There are notes meant only for you.
Notes meant for one other person — your spouse,
... See moreWorm Castings & Idea Gardens
I found a little mound on my walk today and thought it was animal droppings… turns out it was worm castings. Basically a bunch of earthworms pushing out tiny pellets of soil as they tunnel underground. One worm can’t make a pile like that. It takes a whole group, all working the same tunnel, little by little.
And
... See more