Are you a creative person? Do you have more ideas than you can handle? What do you do with them all?
I’m the type of person who has a zillion ideas running around in my head. So many, that it’s a challenge to keep up and make sure I capture the good ones in some way. So, I’ve worked out ways to keep track of ideas and inspiration as they come along:
1. Capture them at bedtime.
I’m a night person, and if I don’t get horizontal before a certain time at night, my brain goes wild. Sleep then evades me for quite a while. So, I keep a small notebook at my bedside to write down the good stuff, and other random thoughts that pop up in my brain while I’m lying in bed at night. This calms my fears that I won’t remember stuff in the morning.
2. “Morning pages.”
I use a large journal and write three pages first thing in the morning. I keep it at my bedside so I can roll over and grab it. It’s a great way to clear out my head in a stream-of-consciousness kind of way. I’ve discovered and processed some really interesting stuff this way!
I also like to keep a to-do list near my bed. During the evening or the morning, if I think of something I want to get done that day, I write it on my to-do list.
3. Traveling journal.
I have a small notebook I keep with me at all times. It has a specific section in it for “Ideas.” Whenever something strikes me, I write it down. I also use this same notebook for meeting notes (with people, organizations, lectures, etc.). Sometimes I get a brilliant idea in the middle of something, so I write it down!
4. Record it.
I have a recorder app on my smartphone so I can capture ideas if I somehow don’t have paper and a pen on me. Or, if I feel like my idea is too complex to write down quickly.
5. Put them on the calendar!
Ideas are great, but if they are just captured and never implemented, they don’t do much good. So, I take the ones I feel strongly about and put them on a long or short-term project or task list. Dates will get the stuff in motion.
That’s how I capture my ideas and inspiration. How about you? Share with us in the comments below!
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