Chapter 2 — Create an Information Sheet before Drawing

Adrian is considering an eight-week community photography project. The notice says equipment is provided, so he writes “no extra expenses.” A friend attended last year and missed one session, so he adds “flexible attendance.” Both entries look ready to use in a comparison. Neither is supported as written. The first goes beyond the notice; the second turns an experience from last year into this year's rule. This fictional example concerns the wording of a record, not a failure to care about the decision.

An information sheet keeps those distinctions visible before you draw. It is not an attempt to build a permanently correct account of your life. You do not need every conceivable detail. You need to know what you are relying on, where each statement applies, and what would require a further check. The layouts can then refer to the sheet without asking an image to establish a fee, an eligibility condition, or someone else's willingness to participate.

Four columns and four status labels

Make four columns: statement, status, source and date, and next check. Number the rows E1, E2, and so on, so a reading note can point to a particular entry. These identifiers are addresses, not reliability scores. Keep each statement small. “Affordable, easy to reach, and supported by everyone” needs separate rows because those claims would require different kinds of checking.

This handbook uses four labels: K for confirmed within a stated scope, E for estimate, A for assumption, and U for unknown. The letters are shared shorthand across the two editions. They are not a ladder from bad to good. You need not convert every entry into K. An estimate may be enough for a limited experiment; an unknown may prevent a commitment. The importance depends on the task and the consequences you have identified.

For example, “The current notice lists eight Saturday mornings” can be K, with the notice and the date you viewed it as the source. That confirms what the notice states, not that a future change is impossible. “Around fifty minutes for the return journey” may be E, based on a route estimate for the relevant time. “Provided equipment includes the lens I need” is A unless established. An unanswered question about missing a session belongs under U.

Let the source limit the statement

Writing this column takes some care. If the website says equipment can be borrowed, record that. Do not silently expand it into “borrowing is free and no deposit applies.” If a staff member emails that places remain available, keep the date and remember that the reply may not reserve one for you. Accurate wording does not require distrusting the person. It prevents a statement from carrying a promise it did not make.

You can record spoken information too. Note who spoke, their role, when the conversation occurred, and whether you are preserving exact wording or a paraphrase. If a condition could change whether you register, ask the appropriate contact to confirm it. Do not tidy the sheet by replacing a friend's experience with an organizer's policy, or your understanding with another person's agreement. A short qualification is preferable to an elegant but overstated sentence.

Keep information about other people proportionate to the task. If a housemate cannot care for a pet on a particular evening, you generally need to record that the help is unavailable. You do not need to infer a reason or paste an entire private conversation into your notes. This sheet serves a decision. It need not become a file on the people around you.

Decide which gap deserves attention first

Beside a missing item, ask: “Would a different answer change my next action?” This identifies a relationship between information and action; it is not a calculation of likelihood. A deposit beyond Adrian's available budget could change whether he applies. The organizer's favorite camera might have no bearing on borrowing conditions and need not be investigated first. Relevance comes from the practical consequence, not from how interesting a question sounds.

Assign gaps to three temporary destinations: confirm before acting, work with an estimate for now, or leave aside because it does not currently affect the action. Add a reason. When accepting an estimate, state the allowance you are making. A route estimate could justify a trial journey. It does not justify a firm arrival promise if you have neither checked the route nor allowed for uncertain walking and transfer times.

Fictional example: Adrian separates the entries

Adrian rebuilds his notes as six entries. E1 records that the current notice lists eight Saturday mornings: K, sourced to that notice, with another check when registration is confirmed. E2 records that equipment is provided, also K within the notice's wording. Borrowing charges and available types remain open subentries marked U. One supported statement no longer conceals the questions around it.

E3 is his estimate of roughly fifty minutes for the return journey, based on a Saturday-morning route search. It stays E until he checks the walking and transfer arrangements. E4 concerns his own intended schedule: “I am willing to reserve this morning each week.” He treats the availability behind that intention as A, adding that it must be checked against a pet-care arrangement already discussed with his housemate. The explanation matters more than making one letter express everything.

E5 records his friend's account of missing a session last year. He marks K only for the fact that the friend reported that experience. It does not settle this year's rules. E6 asks whether missing one session this year would prevent completion, and remains U. Adrian therefore sends three questions to the organizer: borrowing charges, equipment available, and attendance arrangements. He preserves the viewing date of the notice rather than replacing his original notes with an undated summary.

His information task ends with the inquiry sent. Unanswered items remain U. He can work out how much time he is willing to offer while awaiting a reply. He cannot put zero into an empty cost field merely to make the registration calculation look finished. A complete working sheet may contain unanswered questions. Completeness here means accurately identifying their status, not manufacturing an answer for every cell.

Give associations a separate space

Only now add a small space headed “Reading notes.” Suppose a later card shows someone carrying luggage and prompts a question about moving equipment. Write, “This image makes me want to check whether participants carry equipment,” and refer to the relevant information row. The association proposes an inquiry. It does not establish that transport will be required or turn an unknown borrowing charge into a confirmed one.

If an association conflicts with a recorded condition, keep the association and return to the condition's source. You might experience a reading as suggesting freedom, while the notice states full attendance is required for a particular completion document. The feeling cannot remove that requirement. If you believe the notice is out of date, ask the organizer, then record the new reply with its source and date. The update comes from the reply, not the image.

Practice: unpack five statements

Take five sentences from a small decision you are considering. For each, ask who supplied it, whether it still applies, and whether your wording jumps from “may” to “will,” or from “I hope” to “already arranged.” Where you find a jump, create another row. Preserve the part the source supports. Keep the original viewing date while making corrections, so your later self can understand what was available at the time.

Finish by selecting no more than three gaps that could affect your next action. Give each a suitable checking route and a time to return to the record. You need not invent questions to reach three. If the available information is enough, name the action it supports. If it is not, name what you are waiting for. This chapter's practice works entirely without cards. The next layout can help organize attention; it cannot supply replies that have not arrived.