#271: Post-It Notes
Big plans for little pieces of paper
Today’s object is the simple, unassuming post-it note — or sticky note, if we try not to use the now-generalised brand name. I spent a larger amount of money than expected buying these post-its today — they are, in fact, Post-It Notes, as I splashed out for the extra stickiness needed for my planned project.
And what is my planned project? It’s more planning, in fact, but hopefully of an interesting kind. I have acquired this varied collection of post-its so that I can turn my jumbled PhD research thoughts and chapter ideas into tactile, fluorescent objects that I can stick all over a notebook, a piece of A3 paper, my desk, or even, perhaps, a wall. They will force me to boil down my ideas into the key points that they really are, and I will be able to see a wider structure take form. I’m particularly taken by that last idea of the wall, because I’m a spatial thinker — I love the image that I have in my head right now of standing in front of a big blank wall covered in different coloured post-it notes. It could either prove incredibly helpful, or perhaps a little maddening, but I think it will be the former.
But that’s not the end of the possibilities of post-it notes. Because it is a simple object, the post-it is also an extremely creative one. Just like how children will find more fun things to do with a cardboard box than one very expensive and specific toy, so too can adults find hundreds of creative ways to use post-it notes. Alice Kuipers wrote a whole book, which turns from funny to quite tragic, based around the post-it note narrative structure titled Life on the Refrigerator Door: Notes Between a Mother and a Daughter. Post-its have been given out in numerous museums for visitors to record their thoughts or feelings about the latest exhibition. Some people have made artworks out of artfully placed post-its in different colours. I’m pretty sure I’ve even seen pictures of a car and a man covered entirely in post-its, and I’m sure someone somewhere has tried to make a dress out of them. Like lego bricks, post-it notes are what you make of them.
For me, they are the newest piece of stationery that I’ve acquired to help my work. It is amazing how objects like stationery can have such an impact on my productivity, but they can. If I have organised my planner neatly with different colours and post-it notes, I will be more likely to do the work I have planned. If I have written my notes down neatly, in a pretty notebook, or placed post-its in a book with my annotations carefully written on, I am more likely to return to those thoughts and use them in my writing.
As this blog illustrates, I am a person who likes objects, and who relies on them for daily living. I value these new post-its not just for their pretty colours, but for the flexible tangibility they will give to my research thoughts and ideas. After spending so much time in my head and typing away on my computer, I can get out these post-its and do something more active. With post-its in hand, I can build my PhD around me — quite literally, though perhaps my husband won’t appreciate living in a flat whose walls are decorated with my research thoughts in tangible, fluorescent form.
Katie writes regularly about random objects that she finds in her everyday life. If you’re interested in reading more, check out her blog Object, a collaboration with fellow Medium blogger Eleanor. You can also follow us on Twitter at @ObjectBlog.
