Many times when we're starting a new project, we start by making an outline, even something you'd think of as simple...like a logo. It really helps us generate ideas, stay organized, and define the needs of a project. We find ourselves telling more and more people about the virtues of outlining as a creative tool, so we present to you:

The Case for Outlining: An Outline

1. Gather and Organize Your Thoughts

   1. Give your thoughts context

      1. Ideas frequently build on the thing you were thinking about immediately before you had them.
      2. Ideas frequently relate to other ideas you have on a topic.

   2. Give your thoughts priority

      1. You can place items in an outline at the top or bottom of an ordered list based on order of importance.
      2. You can also use unordered lists for equally important, or "in no particular order" lists.

   3. Place your thoughts in a reasonable hierarchy

      1. Some ideas are parts of a larger idea

         1. Placing those items inside of their "parent" idea can keep these items from "polluting" unrelated ideas, which can kill a project's focus.

      2. You can use layers of hierarchy to demonstrate which ideas are peers, and which ideas are subordinate to another.

   4. Reorganize them easily

      1. It's a very easy to sort, redistribute, or add and delete something before you've created it.
      2. Many outline-making tools allow drag-and-drop reorganization.
      3. You can organize ideas in a manner that makes sense, instead of sticking with content you've generated for bespoke purposes.

2. Improve Project Focus

   1. It's easy to get your ideas into order when you're making a simple list

      1. You don't need to have or create the things you're putting on the list
      2. You don't need to find a place in an existing structure to put the things you have already created.
      3. You don't have to figure out how to fill a page you've decided you "need."

3. Facilitate Critical Thought

   1. It's much easier to determine what you need and what you don't when you can view your project in a simple-to-digest form.

      1. You can kill content you don't need before you create it.

         1. Conversely, you can easily identify what content you need, but don't have. 
      2. You can evaluate items based on need and problem solving, and not based on hesitance to keep or discard content that you like or dislike.

      3.  It's easy to see how elegant or complex an outline is, which is a good indication of the level of complexity of your project.

         1. If your outline is getting more complex than you think your project should be, then you need to evaluate your process.

4. It's easy to convert a concise outline into a To-Do List

   1. Once you have your outline complete and start filling it with content for your project, you can use it as a checklist

      1. Use it to make a list of content left to create
      2. Use it to check off items as you complete them
      3. Use it to know what step to take next

So, there you go. Next time you're starting a project, think about starting an outline!

And, in case you're wondering, we like to use Omni Group's OmniOutliner to create outlines for our projects.