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created: 2024-02-21 10:39
updated: 2024-03-03 19:53
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An Archipelago of Ideas separates the two activities your brain has the most difficulty performing at the same time: _choosing_ ideas (known as selection) and _arranging_ them into a logical flow (known as sequencing).

The goal of an archipelago is that instead of sitting down to a blank page or screen and stressing out about where to begin, **you start with a series of small stepping-stones to guide your efforts**. First you select the points and ideas you want to include in your outline, and then in a separate step, you rearrange and sequence them into an order that flows logically. This makes both of those steps far more efficient, less taxing, and less vulnerable to interruption.

To create an Archipelago of _Ideas_, you divergently gather a group of ideas, sources, or points that will form the backbone of your essay, presentation, or deliverable. Once you have a critical mass of ideas to work with, you switch decisively into convergence mode and link them together in an order that makes sense.
