Written, Edited, and Published by: Bria Glenn (Human)

Having a workflow is crucial to completing a project. The idea of a “workflow” is the process one goes through that ultimately leads to the finish point. This is something I learned in undergrad, and spent some time examining in my own academic journey, even tweaking it to make it work best for me.

Whether you are a writer or a project manager, you have a flow that gets you through. For some, it can be putting on specific music, having a certain show as background noise, or working in complete silence. I like to work in spurts, taking breaks every now and again to prevent burnout. Having a workflow is productive during the production process, and clustering can be a key component you use or are missing in your workflow.

Clustering is a brainstorming tactic that involves jotting down words that are related to your topic of choice. The point of it is to get as much on paper as you can, even if some of the words aren’t related to your topic. Having them can be useful later. Clustering can typically look however you choose. After you complete the clustering to the best of your ability, you sequence words in priority order, which helps you eliminate some of the words you wrote , minimizing your clustering outline. This helps you to keep your topic at the forefront.

As I move forward in my academic journey, I am constantly finding ways to improve my workflow. Clustering is not something I normally do, as I prefer to do research first and build my outlines after. This offers an additional guide to not only assist with outlining, but also putting your thoughts on paper, no matter what they may be. Clustering may be something I add to routine, and determine if it hurts, helps, or is unnecessary to my workflow.