Mike Bates:

Surely enough, before long I found myself spending little bits of time doodling and sketching in my Field Notes. I did it whenever I was bored in class or waiting in line, I did it to feel a little better about my day if I hadn’t done anything else creative, and soon the hobby began morphing into other tasks that I’d do in my little book. I was writing down half-formulated thoughts, outlining blog posts, or just visually mapping concepts that I had floating around in my head. It had become a thinking resource for me.

I’ve been using a sort of “Hybrid Journal” method to record, log, journal, and document my daily life for the last year. In that time, I’ve slowly adapted the system to something that works pretty well for me.

The coolest thing about these workflows is how malleable they are – what works for me may not work for anyone else, while someone else’s workflow may not suit me. Mike has come up with his own system and I’m so glad pen and paper are at the forefront of his thought process.

Lastly, if you need any other incentive to head over and check out Mike’s piece, you’ll be pleasantly amazed with Mike’s photography. Quite frankly, his hero image is going to give me a run for my money. Every photograph in this piece is simply stunning.