Procrastinating With Pinterest? Turn It To Your Advantage

Way back in the day (and by that I mean last summer), Robert Smedley introduced us to his writing space.

More directly, he introduced me to the idea of a “Board O’ Stuff”: his corkboard filled with pushpins crammed with story ideas, postcards, cute anecdotes and other things he finds inspiring. Keeping this on the wall above his desk, he admits it’s a lot better than staring at a blank wall behind that ever-dreaded blank page.

I love keeping little mementos and other objet d’art that inspire me or may fuel my writing. But all of those things take up space. I just don’t have the room for more stuff!

Fortunately, there’s a site out there that a lot of people are talking about at the moment, you may have heard of it. It’s called Pinterest, and you can use it as your own digital “board o’ stuff”.

‘Pin’-what??

Like the name implies, Pinterest is the social media way of sharing your interests… by pinning them to your digital “board o’ stuff.” Just like with Facebook or Twitter, you can add a “pin-it” button to images on your website to share them with other Pinterest users. You can also “repin” content from other Pinterest users, just like you would “retweet” a short message. The Pinterest-advantage is that, in addition to not having to clean up loose pins that may fall when there is too much content to hold, Pinterest isn’t limited to the number of boards you can fit on your wall. You can have numerous boards for the numerous categories of your inspiring stuff, each board holding as much as you can dream! It can get pretty addictive, looking at and sharing all this inspiring stuff!

Pinterest began with a predominantly female audience, focusing on arts-and-crafts, clothing, interior decorating, and other things made of sugar and spice. Then along came Gentlemint, “a mint of manly things.” Gentlemint is basically Pinterest for men: hunting, shaving, cars, tailored suits, tools, and other things with a testosterone drive. While undoubtedly in the future these sites will either merge or begin sharing content, for now these two share a common theme separated only by gender focus. (But, of course, no site is exclusive to a gender-specific audience.)

How I use Pinterest/Gentlemint

Pinterest is my digital “board o’ stuff.” When I need a pick-me-up, when I am in need of a smile, or need a find a beautiful photograph to inspire a scene, or an image of a man to inspire a character, I turn to my Pinterest and Gentlemint boards. I casually peruse what others have posted, adding to my boards as I like, then I take a look at my boards and remember all the good things that make me smile. My favorite has to be my board of quotes, signs and messages of inspiration and famous quotations that have inspired others. Quotes really move me; they fuel my inspiration. With a good quote in mind, my spirits are lifted and I am less afraid to tackle the blank page.

My Search Continues…

On my search for inspiration, I am glad that I have found Pinterest and Gentlemint. They keep my walls tidy. They keep my happiness organized. They let me share with the world. They inspire me. What inspires you?