Unlocking creativity, doing something different, having fun, exploring colours, relaxing and doodling away…are all rare in the healthcare setting when faced with constant pressures, no time to do anything, being governed by boring policies and feeling a sense of burnout.

Despite this, I have started to see a wonderful shift lots of people in the healthcare setting starting to do their own sketchnotes! Whether it’s for a presentation, a poster to highlight a key message or to unwind and reflect on the day – sketchnotes are here to stay.

The beauty about sketchnotes is art doesn’t matter.

It’s the simplicity, colours and your key message that will bring your sketchnotes to life. Starting small, picking up a pen and doing a sketchnote on something you are really passionate about is a great place to start. It doesn’t have to be complicated, even having 2-3 key messages is enough! The key is to stall small, enjoy it and each time you pick up a pen to do a sketchnote, you will get better.

I tell the story of how I started to draw about 2 years ago, I never drew before that, I had no idea I could draw. Over the 2 years, there has been 3 key things that helped me develop each time:

1. Practicing and enjoying it while I did
2. Sharing my work and getting a “buzz” from the feedback
3. Doing sketchnotes on topics that I was really passionate about

It is important to keep it simple. Always think, how can my messages be simplified? It sometimes helps to do a rough plan of what messages you might include in your sketchnote and let the creative thinking of what to draw flow afterwards…if you still struggle, use Google images for inspiration! 

I’ve recently created a “Top Tips for drawing sketchnotes” teaching package and am really enjoying going to different hospitals to share the tips to staff. I love seeing the amazement on people’s faces as they go from a blank page to a beautiful sketchnote.

So…without further delay…I welcome you to a new sketchnote club formed for healthcare and NHS staff who are interested in exploring their sketchnotes skills. This is for a club of people who can share their skethnotes, tips and experiences in one place.

Please do give the club a follow on Twitter @sketchnotesclub and together we can help each other unlock creativity, share sketchnotes and tips on how to continuously improve.