In my apartment, I have a white board hanging up...in my living room.

I live in a pretty small place, so it's arguable that, given a few more rooms or more space to dedicate to work-related activities, the white board would be sequestered away from general living space. Or, given better taste or interior design, maybe I'd have other things with which to decorate my walls.

Maybe it's because I've spent too much time at start-ups working as a programmer.

Not sure what the reason is, but I firmly believe that a lot more people should have white boards hanging up in their homes. Day to day, it becomes a place where you can sketch out ideas, free form, very conveniently. And if you make a mistake or need to start over, you just erase. Easy.

I've been to lots of parties or gatherings of people over the years. I can think of dozens or even hundreds of times when one person was trying to explain an idea or thought of theirs to others. It would have helped immensely if there had been a white board within reach, and they could have just grabbed a dry erase marker and drawn their idea for everyone else to see.

Maybe the white boards don't become most peoples' living rooms. That just means someone needs to create one that has a Thomas Kinkade cover that can be drawn down over it when it's not in use.

But until someone invents that, I think you should order one right here and now, and start letting the creative juices flow.