Recently I listened to a fascinating interview with astronaut Dave Wolf, who talked about the importance of “resources” when it comes to spacewalking. To the spacewalker, resources are a life and death matter. Without resources like oxygen and carbon dioxide filtering, the outcome is so grisly Wolf didn’t want to talk about it. With resources, spacewalking is as magical as it sounds.
The myth about ideas is that they come from out of nowhere. That’s just not true.
Ideas come from the stories and images and insights that we are able to draw upon to generate new ideas.
New ideas are all about mashing—taking a bit of this and a bit of that and making something new with it.
The problem is we are like astronauts who are running on low resources. We’re trying to do a spacewalk without enough oxygen.
Think about the projects in front of you. What resources can you engage that will give you a base from which to draw as you work on your project?
Resources come in a vast array of forms: podcasts, books, people to interview, places, trips, experiences, blogs, television programs, movies, magazine articles, pictures, art.
The trick is to be intentional, to have a plan about the resources you’re going to engage and then calendar space in which to do the engaging. Todd Henry (@toddhenry) recommends blocking out a half-hour a day for this.
I’m not perfect at this, of course, but I try to listen to a lot of audio books and podcasts when I’m driving or flying. I pick the books I read based on the work that’s in front of me. I ask myself, “What can I read that will give me an edge in this project?” I set aside time each week to review my RSS reader. (I use NetVibes.)
I’ve also picked up a few ways to avoid forgetting my ideas. The trick is to have some quick way of capturing an idea when it comes. So here are some ideas for how to capture your ideas:
- Call your voicemail and leave a message for yourself. (I sometimes use this one at the end of the day to remind myself of what I need to focus on first thing the next morning.)
- Text or email yourself
- Create an idea document that you’re constantly adding to. Delete ideas that you’ve acted upon, so the list doesn’t get too long and unwieldy.
- Use a notebook.
- Keep a pad on your nightstand. Before you nod off, ask, “Did I have any ideas today that I want to record?” This also comes in handy when an idea comes knocking at 3am!
Your turn. What do you do to generate ideas and not forget them?
P. S. My friend and colleague Erin Bartels published a post about how driving and mindless physical activity help her generate ideas. Check it out.
Yep. I do all those things — except for the voicemail. 🙂
Hey, another great article here. Good stuff!
The iPhone Voice Memo app is perfect for this. Use it all the time!
Perfect. Thanks, Ruth!!!!
I love this tip, Chad. Just recently stumbled onto the same approach. I’m writing fiction for the first time in many years, and find it necessary to read good fiction in order to raise the bar for me personally.
Your list is highly analog! I also use my gadgetry. If you have an iPhone, in the Message app you’ll find a microphone icon next to the space bar. You can speak your idea to the phone and it will text message you with it. You can also download the app Dictation, by Dragon, to leave yourself transcribed notes of spoken ideas.
In Mail, I’ve set up a smart folder called Ideas. Then I made a custom rule so that any email that contains the character string [ideas] in the subject line automatically sorts into that folder as soon as the email arrives. This is a great help if you’re working on a larger, multi-faceted creative project.
Thanks for the insight and encouragement!
Hey Scott! Man it’s been forever. Hope you’re doing well. Great to see you here. And great to see these tips too! Thank you! One of these days we’ll have to catch up.
Chad, I’m never without my faithful pen and pad, iPhone, or something to take notes with. Never know when inspiration might strike.
You know, I’ve never been one to listen to audio books, but I’ve talked to others who really enjoy them. And what better way to get motivated than to listen to something that correlates with what task/project we’re facing. That’s a great idea!
Now…about those interviews…. What does your calendar space look like in the next couple of weeks? I’d like to interview you for a future blog post! 🙂
For audiobooks, i listen to them via my audible app on my Android phone. I’ll email you about the interview.
I always get lots of ideas when I’m playing with my kids. They have great imaginations!
I’m an old-fashioned paper and pen girl, so I keep a notebook of ideas. I absolutely love looking through photography and art books at the library.
In quiet moments, ideas come forward too. It’s not easy to do in our society. But, sometimes I turn off the radio, computer, TV, and phone and just be.
Yes! Silence is a great breeding ground for generative ideas. Thanks for this.