Creativity and productive is difficult to maintain at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. So why not try a simple and straightforward trick that can aid in both?
When I first took the leap into photography as a business and the self-employed life, I trialed many different techniques and ideas for improving my concentration, creativity, productivity, and so on. Some of them I discarded, some of them I adapted and kept, and some of them I swear by. The "swear by" column is pretty short, but one entry is the subject of this video: a daily journal.
I don't necessarily use the journal in a way many would, insofar as I don't record thoughts per se. My primary motivation for using a daily journal is a to-do list for the day, week, month, and year. This is fundamental to how I work and makes sure things do go through the net when I'm busy. It also, as Ranft mentions in the video, keeps you working quickly to cross things off and not have your mind wander off between tasks.
That said, I do use it to record ideas and concepts for shoots or other areas of my business and I believe everyone should have some sort of document to collate all those fleeting thoughts and ideas that might become something down the line. But it's the recording of ideas and the to-do lists combined that mean a journal is invaluable to my productivity and creativity and the consistency of both.
