Most people who say they have run out of ideas have not. They had them in the shower, on the bus and in the middle of a conversation, and lost them. A catching habit solves more than a brainstorm does.
One place, always with you
- A notes app on your phone, a pinned chat with yourself, or a small notebook. Pick one.
- Put it where you open it every day.
- Do not organise at the moment of capture. Just write it down.
What to capture
- Questions customers ask, in their own words.
- Things you have explained three times this month.
- A moment from work that made you smile, or swear.
- A photograph you took and did not know what to do with.
Write enough to be useful later
“Idea about prices” will mean nothing in two weeks. “Why the small size costs almost as much as the large — show what the box costs” will.
Turn scraps into posts, weekly
- 1Once a week, read the list.
- 2Pick the three that still interest you.
- 3Write them as drafts and put them in the calendar.
Prune
Delete what no longer interests you. A list of two hundred old ideas is as discouraging as an empty one.
Put one idea on your list today. The habit is worth more than the idea.