31 Comments
Nov 2, 2021Liked by Austin Kleon

I’m very happy to be able to become a paid subscriber after years of enjoying your free newsletter

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I love this. I remember your post about morning pages and how it can vary, and since I’m a heavily visual person who is sometimes unable to comprehend her thoughts, I want to try this as a daily morning exercise. Super enjoyed seeing the timelapse as well—there are parts where you would pause to think and it’s so good to see how everything connects. Thank you for sharing 😊

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Nov 3, 2021Liked by Austin Kleon

Like others, I have enjoyed your Friday emails so much that I'm glad I can subscribe here. I have already bought your books and there are only so many recommended pencils one person can buy to support your work...

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Nov 3, 2021Liked by Austin Kleon

Delighted to be subscribing after all these years. These maps feel like tracks of synapses lighting up or fireflies. Also, they do a lot of what poetry does: make leaps. The mind is drawn to further cull from them, & connect the spaces in unpredictable ways:

self-directed foolishness : kitchen table mystics talking silence

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Austin, I'm always such a fan of your books & Friday newsletters, and almost always find something that brings me a little spark. This Tuesday bonus earned you a new paid subscriber. Thanks for doing what you do.

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Nov 2, 2021Liked by Austin Kleon

Love taking a line for a walk. It was a title for a lesson in drawing I gave to get folks unstuck at what they were looking at. As for your methodology , I may struggle with it. Mine is to keep writing whatever comes to my head til the yellow legal pad is full then find the stuff that needs focusing. Same sort of results though. Thanks.

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Who has tried plugging text into a Word Cloud ?-- words used most often are bigger than others. Like a Mind Map, but visually different. Surprising what words dominate my Morning Pages lately. ("Austin" was one because I've been taking notes.). Check out freewordcloudgenerator.com.

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Great techniques. I fiddled with some online tools but pen and paper I think is the way to go! Are you still using the zequenz notebooks?

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Your newsletter is valuable. I plan to become a paid subscriber.

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Loving the little sculls.

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Thank You Austin, this is a wonderful tool you have equipped me with now, and Thank You for making this available for me to read.

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As always, there's so much here to think about. The ideas and presentation are very creative, at whatever point we are at, because we can connect and build on what we want, pay attention and benefit. Thanks.

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Love this and also now I have the song "Map of Your Head" by Muse stuck in my head and I'm 100% okay with that.

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the map (web) appearance of an iris, o how unique I.D. beauty can be!! (don't forget to add a lil color!)

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Hi Austin (and hello fellow subscribers) - I already have your three books and subscribed just now :) I was wondering if you (and anyone here) could elaborate on how you use this mind map technique specifically to get unstuck.

For example, suppose you have one or more particular projects but you feel stuck as to how to move the project(s) forward. I suppose you could start with writing down a project by name, then particular aspects of the project that you are having difficulty with…? But this seems much less of the general stream of consciousness exercise that you share in your video, and maybe too concrete of an approach…? I would really welcome observations from you and others who have used this technique to successfully get their projects (or themselves in general ;) unstuck. Thanks very much!

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I use mind maps for my lectures and classes, I recommend Tony Buzan's books

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