Anchor vs Flow

The two essential states of creative capture...

and the different tools that should be used at each point.

Flow

• state of mind
• stream of thought
• uninterrupted interplay between characters of the mind
• multi-polar discussion

tool: chaining, threads

Anchor

• memory stamp
• connections
• ships that are related
• solidifying a thread to transit lines in the mind
• abstraction back into the footprints of an outcome
• stop

tool: mind map

Tool selection depends on the state and purpose.

The mind map is not always the best form of capturing thought.

Perhaps start with a thread (could be visual represented as a lightning shaped +/- polar back-and-forth in order to keep it moving forward or a more mathematical logic statement arrangement), during which an outcome may be deducted, at which point an anchor is needed (could be in the form of a mind mapping exercise) to abstract the experiences and past deductions that led to the current outcome as well as lock the outcome in mind through association.

Threadless' use of context

Threadless makes good use of context by not only identifying where the user is coming from but also giving them an incentive call to action through the use of a specific promocion code.

Phone app with local timezones

A phone application like Skype should have a world clock built into it.
When calling overseas it is probably the most common piece of information you would want.

Currently you see this:


It would be useful to have something like this:



I originally was thinking of putting the local time next to each option in the drop down but then I realised that it was too visually cluttered and also that it did not serve a purpose ie. it doesnt help in the selection of the item (you only want to know the local time of the item you are selecting).

Looking at this now I realise that in this particular case there is one problem: the items in the list are countries and local time varies by city. Perhaps the app could give a range of timezones or at least have a link to get timezone information.