Tool Sharing Tuesday: Index Cards
Maybe it’s just my love of the underdog, but I think it’s about time we show some love to the index card. The older, adhesive-less grandfather to the fashionable sticky note is too often forgotten. Whereas the sticky note is a metaphor for innovation, the index card represents a tradition of staid organization. It’s true, I’ve been guilty of a blind love 3M’s colorful collaboration gems, and I’m not alone in my sticky-note adoration (eg. an artistic ode, a loving competition, a self-referential love).
I want to share how I rekindled my love for the index card. But first, let’s explore how others have built their lives around these plain vanilla tools of the office supply world.
Some memories of index cards are universal experiences. If you were born before 1990, you may remember your favorite school librarian fastidiously organizing the card catalogue. Similarly, you may have written your first report or doctoral thesis on these little guys (and you might still be bitter about it). Index cards were there for us growing up, from learning a language to studying for tests to following your first secret family recipe.
Moreover, they’ve fueled (and continue to fuel) some of our favorite creatives and business leaders:
The late Joan Rivers was known for her persistent and prolific career as a comedienne. The method behind the madness? Over a million index cards of jokes, filed and sorted in her Upper East Side apartment. She’s said this collection represents the “social history of the United States.
Writer and teacher, Anne Lamott, takes a less precise, but no less committed, approach. “I have index cards and pens all over the house—by the bed, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, by the phones, and I have them in the glove compartment of my car. I carry one with me in my back pocket when I take my dog for a walk. In fact, I carry it folded lengthwise, if you need to know, so that, God forbid, I won’t look bulky. You may want to consider doing the same.” She later uses these snippets to flesh out stories and essays, if even just a detail: “Sometimes, if I overhear or think of an exact line of dialogue or a transition, I write it down verbatim.”
Creative doodler and artistic instigator, Austin Kleon is famous for making his work public. His battle cry is “Show Your Work!” (he’s even written a book about it). Austin does an incredible job giving glimpse into his everyday process and takes great care to celebrate others’ practices as well. Especially those that involve the ubiquitous card. Fun Fact: His first book was conceived on index cards and he even shared the “deleted scenes” with readers.
Writer and broadcaster, Merlin Mann, built on the list-based “Getting Things Done“ system of David Allen by creating and evangelizing the Hipster PDA. The Hipster PDA is an index-card-and-binder-clip-based productivity hack. Merlin Mann keeps a wiki that catalogues writers who use index cards– how’s that for fandom?
The index card is alive and well in the creative world and has a distinct longevity in addition to its modularity. A durability I needed in my life. Recently, I ordered 1,000 to supplement my sticky addiction. Immediately, I found two favorite uses:
The Notebook Hack: Taking another cue from librarians, I ordered a set of manila card pockets and stuck them into my favorite planner and Moleskine notebook. They were the perfect size, holding about 15 index cards and a few business cards to boot. While I don’t have a science to my madness yet, these in-a-pinch index cards make excellent to-do lists, idea repositories, or covert jotting pads. (It helps that I keep tape in my pencil case to paste these little guys in my notebook when needed.)
The Daily Provocation: This year I am teaching my first official college class. In an attempt to slowly learn more about my students (and actually take attendance), I start each class with a personal prompt about the day’s topic. And yes, sometimes I make them draw. Every week, I get to know more about my students, and it pushes my co-instructor and me to root our classes in relevance and relationships. (H/T to accidental creativity professor Lynda Barry who takes class attendance with 2-minute self portraits on index cards.)
While the sticky note goes digital, gets cozy with Evernote, and is praised for its collaborative qualities ––– there’s no shortage of reasons to love the traditional index card. What’s yours?
Photos: Joan Rivers’ card catalogue from documentary still, Austin Kleon deleted scenes, Hipster PDA from Merlin Mann, card icon from Stephen JB Thomas on The Noun Project.
