What actually makes a tool a studio for your mind?
Reflecting on knowledge exploration and how the tools that we use facilitate that process
This question lodged itself in my mind on Friday evening and I’ve since been pondering possible answers. I happened across Capacities’ website in my online travels and found myself wondering, “What makes Capacities a studio for my mind?”
This then led to the broader question of, “What does it mean for any tool to be a studio for the mind?”
What does it feel like? What’s the vibe?
What activities does it allow me to do?
When do I reach for this tool over others?
Who am I when I use this tool?
This article is my exploration into these questions.
On the surface
When I think of the word studio, the first images that come to mind are a traditional artist’s studio — an easel, paintbrushes and paint tubes. But a studio is not limited to a certain type of creative output. A studio is a space that facilitates any type of creative process, a place where the artist creates. Even though we bring the tools of our craft to a studio, the space itself should evoke an openness that spurs creativity.
As our thinking apparatus, the mind allows us to make sense of the parts of the world that the brain processes. It’s a tool that we use to form opinions, ideas and derive insights from our experiences.
So then, a studio for the mind is a space that we use for thinking, sense-making and even for exploring our own minds.
Before the digital age, we relied on paper journals, typewriters, and analog systems like slip boxes or zettelkastens to externalize our thoughts, connect ideas, and build knowledge over time.
Today, digital tools offer new ways to create, clarify, and process knowledge.
But why do we feel compelled to make sense of the world and our experiences? What drives us?
Going deeper
For some, our livelihoods depend on it. We might earn a living through research and publishing our findings, or by writing books that people enjoy for leisure or entertainment.
Many use writing as a personal tool to navigate everyday life. Through journaling and reflection, we gain clarity on our thoughts, emotions, and experiences. This process allows us to step back from our knee-jerk reactions and gain a broader perspective on our lives. Writing also serves as a powerful problem-solving tool. By articulating challenges on paper (or screen), we often uncover solutions that weren't immediately obvious.
Then there are those of us who explore ideas purely for the joy that exploration brings. We find fulfilment in learning something new and understanding the inner workings of the world and ourselves. For us, the journey—the process itself—and those "a-ha" moments along the way bring us joy, much like an artist who paints simply because they must.
Our modern mind studios
We've explored the concept of a mind studio and why we engage in knowledge exploration.
There are many tools that fall into this category including Capacities, Tana, Obsidian, mymind, Sublime and other apps that I haven’t used fully in some time like Scrintal and Heptabase. These tools share common features like networked note-taking and the ability to capture inspirations that we want to access in the future.
Let's examine some key elements that make these modern digital tools function as studios for our minds.
The vibe
A studio for the mind is an environment that should foster creativity and allow our thoughts to flow freely. This digital space should feel inviting and inspiring, encouraging us to explore ideas without constraint. The right tool creates an atmosphere where our minds can wander, make connections, and generate new insights.
Think about how you’d want to feel when you enter this digital space as it may vary depending on what you use your space for.
Above all, we seek a sense of belonging in our studios—we want to feel at home. This feeling of comfort and familiarity creates an environment where our thoughts can flow freely.
The activities
So what do we actually do in these studios? These tools should allow us to:
Write our thoughts, musings and observations.
Capture ideas and inspirations from others.
Research new topics and zones of fascination.
Connect ideas by drawing links between different pieces of information, knitting together new insights and perspectives.
Organize our notes and develop systems to keep our knowledge accessible.
Review and reflect on the contents of our spaces, identifying patterns, gaps, and areas for further exploration.
These activities transform our studios from a static receptacle of information into a dynamic environment where ideas are nurtured and tended to over time.
The output
Beth recently posed this question on Twitter:
For many of us, output means something tangible:
Articles, essays, blog posts, newsletters, tweets and other forms of digital content
Books, research papers, and academic publications
Presentations, speeches, and lectures
Poetry, podcasts, screenplays, or zines
However, there are also intangible outputs that emerge more subtly through the process of engaging with our mind studio. These include:
Greater clarity of thought and self-awareness
Personal insights and reflections for self-improvement
Insights that lead us towards having meaningful conversations
My personal favorite: the joy that comes from intentionally exploring zones of fascination by wandering down rabbit holes online.
We use these digital spaces to scribble down thoughts, connect the dots, and sometimes just to wander around in our own heads. Whether you're a researcher, content creator or just someone who likes to explore random topics of interest, our tools are here to help us make sense of the vast, wonderful world around us.
Ultimately, we shape these tools into our own personalized thinking studios, tweaking them to fit our unique processes and needs. At the end of the day, it's not about having the most robust feature set—it's about cultivating a space that lets our minds roam, grow, and maybe even surprise us with some life-changing new ideas every once in a while.
I like these more philosophical explorations of note taking and tools!