January 2026: Sketchnote Lab Dispatch
Five Cool Things, FREE Sketchnotes 101 Workshop this Saturday, What's ahead at Sketchnote Lab for 2026, and Sketchnote Handbook Chapter 3: Listen Up! video for your viewing pleasure.
Welcome to the Sketchnote Lab Dispatch for January, 2026!
Happy New Year! It’s January, which means I’ve started preparing for the new direction here at Sketchnote Lab: a focus on the basics and deep dives into visual problem-solving with sketchnotes.
What’s in this issue?
5 Cool Things to share with you.
Sketchnotes 101 this coming Saturday, January 24th, for FREE! Sign up here.
What’s ahead at Sketchnote Lab with more details on my plan for the year.
Sketchnote Handbook Chapter 3: Listen Up! A Guided Walkthrough Video was posted.
Five Cool Things
Here are five cool things I thought you would enjoy:
❥ 1. Journaling for Beginners: What Actually Matters - It’s not too late to start journaling in 2026, this article from Bryant Del Toro offers practical insights to get you started.
❥ 2. Create an Artist Diary Series from Adam Ming - An artist diary is another form of journaling and in this article, Adam Ming talks about why it’s easy to get ideas but so difficult to turn them into anything tangible and how an artist diary can help.
❥ 3. Stop Drawing Well, Start Drawing Honestly - I LOVE this article from Christopher Thornock with the advice to draw what matters to you, honestly, instead of trying to impress other people.
❥ 4. Navigation fundamentals for graphic recorders - My friend Cara Holland offers four simple steps to help your audience find their way round your sketchnotes and graphic recordings.
❥ 5. Sergio Ingravale’s Creative Quests - My friend Sergio offers a mix of gamified visual activities for productivity and creativity. Save 25% on his for-sale items w/ code SKETCHNOTELAB at Gumroad.
January Sketchnote Lab Live: Sketchnotes 101 to kick off 2026!
On Saturday, January 24th, 2026, at 12 noon US Central Time, I’ll teach the basics of sketchnoting in Sketchnotes 101.
Come and learn the basics of sketchnoting so you can kick off your year with a new skill—sketchnoting! I’ll teach you how to create sketchnotes using the five basic shapes (square, circle, triangle, line, and dot), people, faces, and lettering.
We’ll wrap the session with a fun activity where you can practice your new skills right away!
The session is free to all subscribers, with the recorded replay video available exclusively to Paid Lab Members (along with all recordings since December 2024).
What’s ahead at Sketchnote Lab for 2026
In December, I shared a survey for readers and got fantastic feedback. The results gave me clarity on what to focus on — two focus areas for 2026:
Teaching the basics for people new to sketchnoting who want to try it in 2026, and
Live problem-solving sessions to show how you can use sketchnotes as a thinking and problem-solving tool at work and in your everyday life.
You can check out the full 2026 schedule on the Live Labs page.
For more details and full survey results, read the article.
The Sketchnote Army Podcast is coming to Sketchnote Lab!
I’m also migrating the Sketchnote Army Podcast to Sketchnote Lab this spring, and rebranding it The Sketchnote Podcast. It will have the same format: interviews with interesting visual thinkers. I’m centralizing my work at Sketchnote Lab and that includes my podcast.
Curious about the podcast? Check out the 17 seasons and 185 episodes at Sketchnote Army.
More about the rebranding and migration soon!
Sketchnote Handbook Chapter 3: Listen Up! A Guided Walkthrough Video
In December, I released video 3 from my series walking through The Sketchnote Handbook, sharing the thinking behind the chapter and some stories from creating the book:
You can see video 1 and video 2 on YouTube. More are coming this year!
Last Month’s Sketchnote Lab Posts
Here’s what happened at Sketchnote Lab last month:
Become a Paid Lab Member, and you’ll support my work and have access to all Live Lab recorded replays since December, 2024 to help build your sketchnoting practice!
Buy my Sketchnoting Workshops
Check out my sketchnoting workshop videos to build your lettering, layout, and icon creation skills in your sketchnotes, or to learn my reflective method for creating travel sketchnotes.
Custom Sketchnote Workshops
I love teaching teams like yours how to think visually and sketch simply with Custom Sketchnote Workshops.
I've presented workshops at schools: Drexel University, Marquette University, and The University of Michigan; Anne Arundel, New York City, and Fresno school districts.
I’ve also presented workshops for teams at SmugMug/Flickr, Hubspot, Northwestern Mutual, Johnson Controls, Dentsu Creative, and Sibley Memorial Hospital.
I’d love to teach your team as well. Let’s talk!
Thanks again for the chance to share something useful in your inbox!
— Mike
Sketchnote Lab is Mike Rohde’s space designed to bridge the gap between sketchnote theory and practice. You don’t need to be an artist to think visually. Join Mike and learn to use sketchnotes to clarify your thinking, solve problems, and move forward. Learn more about Sketchnote Lab.
Mike is the author of The Sketchnote Handbook and The Sketchnote Workbook, bestselling books that teach regular people how to start sketchnoting and build a regular sketchnoting practice.
He founded the Sketchnote Army and hosts the Sketchnote Podcast, where he interviews visual thinkers to understand what makes them tick.
Mike teaches recorded, live, and in-person workshops to help accelerate your sketchnoting practice and provides personalized coaching for your specific visual thinking challenges.
He is the illustrator of bestselling books like REWORK, REMOTE, The $100 Startup, Honest SEO, The Culture Playbook, and The Future Begins with Z.
Become a Supporting Lab Partner or Founder to support Mike’s work at Sketchnote Lab.
I really enjoyed this update and the exciting plans for the Sketchnote Lab this year.
I may have spent more time than i'd like to admit going down the rabbit hole of Five Cool Things. I already subscribe to Adam Ming, but I wasn't aware of the others. I found some great finds and really enjoyed reading their thoughts.
I'm also looking forward to Saturday's session. I have to admit, since joining the Sketchnote Lab, i've been putting off actually getting started. All the usual procrastination suspects have reared their heads over the last few months:
"I don't have the right materials"
"I don't want to 'ruin' a notebook with mistakes"
"Should I go analog or digital?"
"What sort of sketchnotes should I create?"
"I don't know what to capture"
"Is this thing even worth capturing?"
"What if what I create looks bad"
Getting back to basics sounds like a great way to start the new year :)