Blank pages and computer screens aren’t always a good thing. In fact they can be downright frustrating. As I sat down to write this post I was staring at a blank page and had no idea what I would write. But I’ve committed myself to writing regularly. So I racked my brain for ideas. Nothing came until I moved away from the computer for a little while. Then I came back. The white screen was still there, but suddenly it began to speak to me.

This is what it said: “Without me you would be far less productive.” Blank screens give us life. They give us opportunity. They give us the possibility of creativity. They beg to be filled. White is a wonderful color.

Blank pages can increase your productivity in these three ways:

1. Blank To-Do List. You know that to-do list you had last week? The one with all kinds of scribbling and scratching? The one that has items yet to be crossed off? Every Sunday night grab a new, blank page. Transfer the old to-dos from the dirty page to the blank page. Add the new to-dos that you have to accomplish this week. Start from scratch. Start fresh. Embrace the white, new page and make it a productivity primer. The blank page of your Monday morning will now be filled with all the things you can begin to cross off as you get the week off to a productive start.
2. Blank Notebook. One of my favorite things is a brand new Mickey Mouse Moleskine Notebook. A Moleskine Notebook is a great productivity tool. A Mickey Mouse Moleskine Notebook, for me, is even better. Disney in and of itself reminds me of creativity and the creative process. The notebook is filled with blank pages where I like to jot down thoughts and ideas. It helps me keep track of potential blog posts. It’s a place for taking notes at meetings. More than that, it has been proven that writing with a pen or pencil fires up our brain in different ways and even makes us more creative. Want to have more productive creativity? Write things down with a pen or pencil on a blank page.
3. Blank Computer Screen. In this digital age there comes a time when we have to finally fill a blank computer screen. It helps us share our thoughts and ideas with the world through the many channels that we have available to us. But when we sit down at our computers we are often distracted by all the bells and whistles of the internet. There is a wonderful app called Freedom that allows you to block any pages of the internet that you want for a certain period of time. It helps you turn a blank screen into one filled with thoughts, ideas, creativity, and new life. A blank computer screen can be one of the most productive tools we have at our fingertips.

For anyone who aspires to be creative, white is a wonderful color. It can be filled with dreams, and ideas, and possibilities. It can be filled with all the colors of life.

How do blank pages make you more productive?