Hey all! I'm trying out a new feature on @leaflet.pub that lets people submit their own blog posts as a reply to someone else's post. In theory, I should be able to use a "replies" block to limit replies, and I'll be able to approve ones I want to show as replies. Thanks to Leaflet for turning on this feature for my blog to test it out.

NOTE: You don't have to be on Leaflet to reply; it can be any post (including and ).

Q. What tool, digital or analog, do YOU find useful in your creative process?

Your answer can be silly (photo of your furry "assistant", your morning coffee ritual, etc) or serious/useful. Please do reply if you can; I'm very curious to see how this feature works.

Reply with a post of your own.

Here are two tools I find super-useful in my own creative process:

A person uses an Apple Pencil to draw on an iPad resting on a stand. The screen displays an illustration of a person sitting at a small table atop a grassy hill with city buildings in the background. Copyright/Credit: © Debbie Ridpath Ohi - DebbieOhi.com

One of my useful office items these days is my Parblo PR100 Universal Tablet Stand. I like that I can easily adjust the tilt from almost upright to almost flat.

Side view: a person uses an Apple Pencil to draw on an iPad resting on a stand. The screen displays an illustration of a person sitting at a small table atop a grassy hill with city buildings in the background.

It measures around 12 inches across and 9.3 inches height. It weighs around 800 grams or 1.8 pounds, or the weight of a big hardcover novel.

A black Parblo tablet stand viewed from the front, resting on a green cutting mat with a desk organizer, cup, and books in the background.

Upright, I can use it to support my iPad and use it in combo with a Bluetooth keyboard to do my writing.

Rear view of a black Parblo tablet stand resting on a green cutting mat, with a label on the back support that reads "Pls return to DEBBIE RIDPATH OHI Debbie Ohi DebbieOhi.com".

I also love my ProtoArc XK01 Full-Size Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard, which I use pretty much every day. It's inexpensive compared to other keyboards, pairs with up to 3 devices (easy to switch between them), rechargeable via 201 mAh battery.

Top-down view of a closed black ProtoArc foldable Bluetooth keyboard resting on a green cutting mat marked with measurement gridlines, showing a small rabbit sticker near the top right corner.

Above: I added wee stickers to the front (I can't remember the artist name but if I can dig that info up, I'll add it here) so that I can quickly see which is the top.

Top-down view of an open black ProtoArc foldable Bluetooth keyboard resting on a green cutting mat.

Lately, I've mainly been using this keyboard in combo with my iPhone. Since I always have my iPhone with me, I can just tuck the foldable keyboard into my tote bag or backpack, and I always have an easy way of writing. Also is MUCH easier to type on this keyboard than thumb-typing for me; I have replied to many email messages while balancing the open keyboard on my lap in waiting rooms! I usually also take a thin paper notebook as well, so just put the keyboard on top of that for some stability. Then (if there is no other flat surface available) I put my iPhone on my backpack, which I keep just in front of me. Not the most ergonomic writing environment, but it means that I can write in almost any environment.

How about the rest of you?

Q. What tool, digital or analog, do YOU find useful in your creative process?

Reply with a post of your own.

Find out more about Debbie at DebbieOhi.com, or browse her social blogs.