A lot of us are looking for the ways to be more productive, more focused on our creative workflow. And we are happy people as there are a lot of tools to help us with that â from pen and paper to complex time management and project management systems. If to-do lists are not enough for your creative mind and you want to go digital, you can easily use Miroâs web whiteboard to organize your ideas, stories, thought and whatever you need. One of our users, Shayla, told us how she manages the creative workflow.
Hi Shayla, what projects are you working on?
Iâve got two different projects going at the same time. Both will end up as novels, if everything goes according to the plan. The first is a medieval fantasy, focused around a group of rogue soldiers on a quest to defeat a group of dark wizards, whose ultimate goals are to raise their own personal army and assume world dominance. Although the original concept was my idea, I have a very devoted friend who enjoys working with me to seal plot holes and further character development, as well as contribute ideas of their own.
The second is a sort of steampunk fantasy genre, revolving around a team of heroes to defeat a military dictatorship overseen by an evil dragon, after the overseer of the more âpeacefulâ faction was assassinated. The original idea for this one was a collaborative âspitballâ between myself and my cousin, and weâve been working together to further it for quite a while now.
What is your biggest challenge in managing creative workflow?
The biggest challenge would definitely have to be finding times that work, where I can just sit down and be productive. The downside to an internet-based board like Miro is that Iâm just a touch of exasperation away from opening up Reddit, or checking my emailâsomething that has nothing to do with my work. If both I and my partner are not 100% motivated, itâs easy to get distracted; but that isnât at the fault of the site of course:)
What is the workflow? How do you work together on the projects?
The workflow is, amazingly, simple. We can jot down anything that comes to our mind, anywhere on the board, and then work together to figure out where it ought to go. Most of the time, a small idea like âWhat if Character X is really sensitive about ___?â can snowball into something much larger, and forge events where Character X learns to trust so-and-so about their issue, or learns to accept their issue and become confident instead of insecure. It opens keys to backstories, childhood eventsâ even future events (âWhat if Character Xâs ___ issue costs them a fight and sets the whole group back?â)! All that needs to be done is drawing a few arrows to link the ideas, and we can arrange them accordinglyâ even edit other parts of the story to accommodate them.

How do you use Miro for managing creative workflow?
I use Miro as, essentially, a gigantic storyboard. I rearrange different areas to accommodate my particular way of thinking for that day; if Iâm feeling character development, I can push timelines and plot charts to the side, and vice versa. I get to visually organize my thoughts, which is an invaluable skill that most people donât realize.
What was the process of managing creative workflow before and what has changed?
My process beforehand was excruciating, to be blunt. Notebook after notebook was filled with out-of-place information, facts, research, and hard-to-follow trains of thought; and heaven forbid you lost one of those pocket-sized notepads filled with everything youâd jotted down over the past week or so. RTB made it so much easier to just write it out in my phone, and copy and paste it straight onto the board later.

What advice could you give to our users? Maybe some productivity tips or smth like that?
The best advice I can give is to experiment. Every person has a different purpose for using Miro, and everyone has a different mind. My neat, box-filled world might overwhelm you. Your cluttered, arrow-filled world might overwhelm me.
The site has so many different features, and itâs unlikely that you wonât find one that works for you.
If youâre having trouble being productive, or forcing out your creative bursts, there are a lot of different things you can try. Some people are able to overcome it by forcing out at least a few words a day. Some people leave off mid-thought to give themselves a place to come back to. Some just wait until theyâre âfeeling itâ. All I can say for sure is that Miro will definitely help you visualize your thoughts. Whether thatâs something you need or not, it can help a lot of people understand what youâre trying to convey.