On the importance of visualization

I’m thinking of blogging like in the old days. Back when people used to blog whenever something happened. This is what made it so unique, because it was like online journaling.

And I love journaling!

So today I’m going to write about something that helps me a lot in my day to day life. That’s visualization!

Not the kind you find in self-help books. I don’t imagine myself to be a millionaire, then tell myself that I deserve all the riches of the world to come to me and then they come.

I’m talking about visualising something I want to do, in its finished state.

For example, I’ve been struggling for the past one month and a half to get my hands on an office space. Since I wanted it to be in an industrial building, no fluff, no drywall, no furniture, I had to work hard to get it. I was also conditioned by the fact that I wanted it to be near where I live, so that I can quickly go home, or take my kids from school/kindergarden.

I finally did it, last week, and while walking with the administrator through the space, I fell into this kind of trance. It was like I was walking through the finished space. Tuned to my liking. The person who was giving me the tour kept talking. I did not hear a word they were saying.

I could already see where my desk would be, how my laptop and my monitor would sit, the wood I would use for the desk. I could even see other areas of that space (which is huge — 140 square meters). I could see where I would have the weights/fitness area, where the small kitchen would be.

Then, I immediately got the idea of having some sort of jail beds, mounted on the walls, where I could rest if I wanted to. Then the reading area, with the bookshelf mounted on the wall. Then a podcasting/interview/lounge area, saw that too.

Today, I went online looking for offices using industrial design. I wanted to write down a couple of things that match my “visions”.

It took me around 15 minutes to find what I was looking for, with an accuracy of over 80%. Threw everything in Apple Notes, for reference.

Here’s what I came up with, in this PDF export from Notes. Careful, it’s 78MB in size. Looks like Apple Notes doesn’t do any optimization when it exports notes as PDF.

Crazy? Maybe…

I also caught myself going through the same visualisation process, earlier today, when I was thinking of redesigning my website. Two minutes into this process, I was already seeing myself use it (parts of it). I began to see where the navigation is and how it looks. Where would the logo be placed and what style should be applied to the area.

I’m writing this article, first as a note to myself, should I forget the importance of visualising things and being present in that visualisation. I’m also writing it for the people who are unsure about the benefits of visualising.

I hope it helps.

Keep an open mind!

P.S. Did I tell you I’m going to call my office “404 Office”? That’s because I love remote work and people doing their own thing, and so “404 Office Not Found” was the first thing that came to my mind.