Inspired by Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language, stimulated by Merlin Mann’s Macworld talk “Toward Patterns for Creativity”, derived from the “Ubiquitous Capture” pattern that Merlin (by way of David Allen) proposes.

- “Ubiquitous capture”/”The one place where stuff goes”/”Get One Box” *** Without labels, or taxonomy, or order, or even intent, grab on to what inspires you and stash it.  Whatever is going on in your life at the moment is about whatever the world brings to you.

- “Tolerate Ambiguity” *** During the first stages of creativity, do not edit, pin down, or ask more than the vaguest of questions.

- “Start Scratching” * Push around the peas on your plate and see how they push back.

- “Make Time Away” *** Creativity is not about busyness, and no amount of looking busy speeds up the process.  Allow the time and space for ideas to come to you.  Pythagoras did his best thinking in the bathtub

- “A Working Draft” *** Drafts in creativity are like theories in science: it’s thee best idea you’ve got right now, and it will hold until the next one comes along.  A theory is never proven, or final.  A draft is final when the cart comes by to drag it from your clutches - though some internal consistency helps credibility