Part 3: Your Creative Toolkit
When I was in graduate school, my husband (then-boyfriend) and I ran a tool library out of a local industrial building. A tool library is what it sounds like: a library where you can check out tools. As part of our collection, I had a pink toolkit that my mom had given me years prior. It’s a really handy little toolkit, but I was concerned that it being small and pink would somehow imply that it wasn’t as reliable or “heavy duty” as my other tools. I enjoyed the pink hammer especially because I have small hands and found the hammer to be much more comfortable to use efficiently. For fun, I put it on display as part of the tool library’s Maker Faire booth, and lo and behold, everyone who came by our table loved the pink hammer and wanted to rent it!
This whole anecdote is about the important of choosing tools that work for us. Every creative person depends on certain tools to create their projects. A “tool” is a high-level concept and first we need to establish what that means for us as creatives. Essentially, a tool is any sort of resource or platform that helps us actually make our art. Thus, the assortment of tools we use is known as our creative toolkit. One mistake that many creatives make is not using the right assortment of tools, or using trendy tools instead of ones that actually meet their needs. This lesson is all about your creative toolkit: what it is, how to vet the tools you use, and what tools you should use in your creative work.
What is Your Creative "EDC"?
Are you familiar with the term “every day carry” (or EDC)? An EDC is the selection of essential items you have with you at all times when you’re out and about. My EDC is usually: phone, wallet, small pocket notebook, pen, pocket knife, chapstick, and asthma inhaler. EDC is a whole subculture that I’ll let you explore on your own (it’s a lot of fun!), but we can apply the same concept here. What is your must-have EDC for creative work?
For example, here is what I consider to be my creative EDC:
My bullet journal (analog)
Fineliner pen (analog)
Notion (digital)
Shift (digital)
Google Docs OR Ulysses (digital)
Adobe Suite (digital)
These tools are essential for my creative work and productivity and I can’t create without them. They are intrinsic to my workflow because I know how to use them and they help me complete stages of my process. It took me a while to really learn what I like and what works for me, so let’s break this down into two parts: the goal of your creative toolkit and the tools in your creative toolkit.
The Goal of Your Creative Toolkit
Tools help us build, fix, and create. Your toolkit should do the following:
Excite and inspire you
Reduce friction that may impede your progress
Help you actually make the thing you want to make!
The good news? There are a ton of amazing tools for creatives, more than ever before. The bad news is that testing and trying new tools can be a time sink and can actually detract from our creative work. It’s important to set criteria for how to test and implement a creative tool into your toolkit.
A starting point is to use the Four Laws of Behavior Change, as outlined by James Clear in the book Atomic Habits (which is a great read and one I referenced a lot while writing this series). The four laws are a “simple set of rules we can use to build better habits” and they apply perfectly to your criteria for finding tools that work for you.
Make it obvious: Is it obvious that this tool meets a specific need or is catered toward a specific outcome? (For example: is an app for writers clearly tailored to writers/writing.)
Make it attractive: Is the tool aesthetically pleasing or offer a clean, attractive user experience?
Make it easy: Does this tool make it easy to do what you want to do with it, or is there a lot of friction?
Make it satisfying: Is this tool fun to use? Does it excite and inspire you?
I also personally add additional points of criteria:
Is it accessible? Is this tool designed with different needs in mind, such as screen reader compatibility?
Is it free and/or affordable with my budget?
When a new tool — like a calendar app or a journal — fits the above criteria for you, you can add it to your toolkit!
What Should You Have in Your Toolkit?
No two creatives are alike, but there are some tools that every creative benefits from including. Use this list as a starting point for assembling your creative toolkit.
A calendar (digital)
Having a calendar that automatically reminds you of events or deadlines alleviates some of the burden of having to check manually. If you can’t live without a planner, consider using a calendar app in conjunction with it. Creatives benefit from automating some of the more mundane tasks to free up our brains to focus on the important stuff!
Recommendations:
A project management tool
A project management tool helps you track, organize, document, and execute any project. I encourage you to find a project management tool that does the following:
Allows you to track entire projects and the to-dos within each project;
Provides a place to document additional notes or add files;
Can be accessed on multiple platforms;
(Optional but encouraged) Provides a searchable feature so you can easily find files.
Recommendations:
A time-tracking tool
Tracking the time it takes to complete parts of a creative project help us set reasonable project scopes in the future (more on this in part 4!). It’s also a way to stay focused.
Recommendations:
A music/ambient noise/podcasting app
This is very much a preference thing, as many folks struggle to do creative work when listening to music or podcasts whereas some can't work without it! Personally, instrumental music helps me focus far more than silence! Podcasts can be conducive to graphic designers, for example, but less so for writers. It depends on your creative medium!
Recommendations:
YouTube playlists: search “ambient music [genre]” to find thousands of free options
A writing, illustration, design, etc. tool
The tool that you use to actually do your creative work is incredibly important. This is likely a program or resource that you will spend time really learning. A decade ago I started using InDesign, which has become one of the most important tools in my kit. Although I want to try other design and layout tools, like Affinity Publisher, I know how to use InDesign for my projects and that makes it my go-to resource. Only you can determine which tool this is; you're the expert when it comes to your productivity and workflow.
I read a saying last year in a guide for buying holiday gifts and how most gift-giving can come down to: “Something you want / something you need / something to wear / something to read.” I think the same concept can apply here for your toolkit: Something to track, something to date, something to listen to, something to make.
That’s silly, I know. Thanks for indulging me.
Activity and Worksheet
It’s time for you to assemble your creative toolkit! You may already have tools that you love and use to the fullest. Consider adding something new to your kit or evaluate your current criteria for trying a new tool and incorporating it into your workflow. Use the worksheet to guide your process and document which tools you’ve tried and your thoughts on each one.
If you want to share your toolkit or get more recommendations, pop into my Discord channel!