CompostingFieldStones

Once you've collected and organized field stones, what next? Do you get value out of the stones before they're used?

I keep most of my fieldstones on 3x5 cards, loosely organized (meaning that mostly, they're in a few big piles). I shuffle through them periodically, looking for ones that I can take "next steps" on. The process keeps the field stones active in my subconcious, which often sparks new ideas. (The "new idea" muse usually visits while I'm in the shower the next morning.)

I call the process "composting", because even as the piles sit there, they're steaming away producing more material.

There are a few other aspects to the process, which I'll touch on in SessionSix019, my session on Creativity.

--DaveSmith 2006-09-13

Aha! That is what you mean by composting. I do the same thing, but I didn't think it was a sorting method, just something that I piddled with because I didn't know how to sort them.

DwaynePhillips 14 September 2006

I found several 3x5 cards in my carrying case. I've created a generic "blog thoughts" document to which I added the card content. As I go through the document, I occasionally complete the thought, make the blog entry, and remove it from "blog thoughts."

I keep other 3x5 cards that I periodically review. Rolling through the 3x5 cards is a technic I learned while learning the EMT-I formulary. DonGray 2006.09.14

I have found value from sorting fieldstones and from dust. Sorting, sometimes I get a way bigger pile than I expected. So, I get to notice that maybe that category is important. Or maybe it is way too generic. At a minimum a lot is going on, which is good to know. Often I don't know that something big is happening until later.

Dust is useful because it collects on cards, telling me that maybe I'm not very interested in something right now.

-- JimBullock 2006.09.14

I don't always collect on cards, because like Dave I often get my best fieldstones in the shower. So I have a diver's slate in the shower. But, when I dry off, I transcribe the fieldstones to cards. But I don't let the piles get too big. When I have a half inch or so, I will take some time to shuffle them around and either discard them or transcribe them into an internal wiki I have on my Mac. That's where they compost for me. Like any good compost pile, it needs turning every once in a while, which I do. I do, however, try to keep worms out. - JerryWeinberg 2006.09.17

Updated: Sunday, September 17, 2006