Happy Tuesday, readers! I am really sick today, so Joshua Clanton has stepped up to provide a guest post for your reading pleasure. Quick tip, grab your notebook before you start reading, there are three great tips here!

Photo from hanssolo

When most people talk about productivity, they speak of lists and priorities and contexts, but I’ve rarely heard anyone mention the possibilities of drawing. “Drawing?” you might be thinking, “I’ve got serious work to do here.” I completely understand. It seems like everyone is always rushing from one task to the next, and no one wants to waste time on something frivolous. But taking the time to draw (or learn to draw) on a regular basis actually has some pretty concrete benefits. Besides the cultural and recreational side of things, here are three ways that drawing can help you become more productive.

1. Think viscerally

Because drawing well is dependent on a million tiny choices — What angle should I use here? How dark should it be? Should I leave that line or erase it? — it will quickly teach you to think viscerally. Or as Malcolm Gladwell puts it, it will teach you to think without thinking.

How does this help? Well, think about it this way. Isn’t each and every day also made up of a million tiny choices — Do this task now or later? What’s most important here? What materials do I need for this project? — choices that if made well may ultimately add up to something beautiful? By learning to think viscerally on a small scale, and seeing the results quickly, we can learn to make these split-second decisions even on the larger canvas of our day, our week, or our life.

2. See potential in the undeveloped

Closely related to thinking viscerally is the ability to see potential in the undeveloped. When you start a drawing, you first have a blank piece of paper, then you have a piece of paper with a few lines on it, then a few more lines, and so on. At each point along the way you need to be able to see more than just what is there already — you have to see what could be.

This too is a skill with practical value in our daily lives. If we just go through the process of completing one task, then the next, then the next, we aren’t necessarily getting any closer to our ultimate goals. We need to learn a sort of double vision so that we can see both what is, and what we really want that could be. It is holding things in this double vision that gives us a basis for deciding what is worth pursuing.

3. Increase focus

Drawing also demands attention and focus. When I first started to draw, I had difficulty concentrating on the work for more than a couple of minutes at a time. But with practice I was able to increase my focus bit by bit, till now if I get really interested in a particular drawing, I might work on it for hours at a time. And I know that the focus I gained in drawing didn’t just remain limited to that area. As my ability to focus while drawing grew, so did my ability to focus on other things.

The ability to focus on a single task for a long period of time is one of the most important skills that we can develop for productivity. Having focus means that we can get things done much more effectively than we could otherwise. Fortunately, focus is transferrable from one area to another. It’s all a matter of training.

How to get started

So, let’s say I’ve convinced you that taking the time to draw would be a productive use of your time. How would you get started? You just need three or four thingss…

1. Pen or pencil (I recommend pencil for those without much background in drawing)
2. A good notebook (If you’re reading this blog you probably already have one)
3. Something to draw (While you can draw from mental images, I find it is most helpful to have your subject in front of you)
4. Instructional materials if you think you need help (Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a good place to start)

What do you think? Has drawing helped you become more productive? Any points I missed? Leave a comment and let me know!

Joshua Clanton is a freelance web designer who blogs about productivity, creativity, and web design. If you liked this post, you might also appreciate 6 Web Design Tips from Leonardo Da Vinci.