Writer's block is a funny thing. It usually isn't a writing problem. It's a thinking problem. You sit down to write before you've done the thinking, and the page won't let you pretend.
What if the thinking was already done?
Two ways to publish
Top down. You start with an idea. You decide what you want to write about, then look for notes to support it. Often you find gaps, so you stop writing to go and research. I picture this as someone laying down train track while the train is approaching.
It works, but it has a cost. You constantly switch between writing and researching, which makes flow hard. I call it just-in-time note-taking, and it's no fun on a deadline.
Bottom up. You look at what you already have in your notes and let that decide what to publish. When enough notes cluster around an idea, you surface it as an article, a paper, a video or a course.
I like to think of it as popcorn. All the kernels heat up at the same time, as you make notes on different topics. Only when each one reaches a certain temperature does it pop. You don't choose which kernel goes next. They each get there when they're ready.
How it looks in practice
Say I want to write an article called "How to create a growth mindset workshop for line managers". My process:
- Create a project note with the title.
- Open my Mindset Map of Content and pull in the notes that feel relevant. That gives me a rough structure.
- Read through them, previewing each atomic note in the editor. I'm only looking at small blocks, not wading through long documents.
- Write the narrative around them.
- Edit, refine and publish.
Two things stand out:
- I never start from a blank page. Before I've even thought about what to write, the article is populated with notes that exist in my slip box. All the thinking has been done. I can focus on the storytelling.
- I shouldn't need to research anything new. This is a good health check. If I find I need first-hand research to write the article, my notes aren't ready, or I'm trying to answer a question my research hasn't touched.
(One tip I love: record yourself reading the article aloud. It's a great proofread, and it gives you an audio version for free.)
The real magic
In the bottom-up approach, the notes create the published work. The published work doesn't create the notes. You aren't inventing an argument and hunting for evidence. You're writing about what your notes already explain.
That's also a defence against cherry-picking. If you set the conclusion first, you can end up researching only what supports it. A bottom-up approach means you follow what you actually found.
If you're just starting out
You won't have enough notes yet, and that's fine. Use the top-down method to get going. Pick a question you find interesting and see if your notes can answer it. The gaps show you what to read. As your slip box grows, shift towards bottom up.
Why publish at all?
Publishing creates a snapshot of your understanding at a moment in time. It invites feedback, which is how you really learn. It forces you to be clear, and the simpler you can explain something, the better you understand it. And it's a way to pay your knowledge forward.
Try it
Look at your notes and find a cluster of five to ten related ones. Put them in a new note, in an order that feels natural. That's your first outline. You might be surprised how close you already are.
Where do I find the time?
This approach works best when you work on several things in parallel: reading, processing and writing, each at a different stage. In Atomic Note-Taking I share a sample weekly workflow, the full blog article example step by step, and how to know when your slip box is ready to publish from.
