Two quick ideas to keep your mind moving forward and thinking.
When making a numbered list always add one number at the end and leave it blank. By doing so you encourage your mind to keep thinking. Instead of the “that’s done” mentality, your thinking will be “what else?”
When sketching or taking notes (even on your daily to-do list) draw a box so that the upper right quadrant of the page starts blank. Now you have an area you can return to with ideas and thoughts that might come up hours or even days later. A place to summarize or reach conclusions even.
Your turn. What techniques keep your ideation fresh and moving forward?
I change my pen daily. I cycle through four different colors as I take notes so that I have a visual reminder of when I added notes to old notes, which ideas and thoughts are freshest, which were written down as follow-up, etc. And of course I leave a little room between points as I’m writing so that there is room to expand on ideas when I follow up. I also title lots of Google docs with good ideas or headlines and sometimes there’s nothing even written in them. But I can come back to them when the ideas start flowing again. I may have gotten that idea from you? 🙂
Anne, I love the colored pens idea. Not sure it would work for me. I’d end up using all the colors on one day and making the document into a pretty picture 🙂 I totally agree on the leaving space to come back and write notes about the status of the item, etc.Capturing the ideas as you do in Google docs is so important. ideas are fleeting. Here one minute and replaced seconds later by the next one.
Whenever I read, listen to webinar, cd, etc I keep my journal open with a pen in it aside from my note pad. Doing this tells my brain to be on the hunt for a gem, an idea that I will flesh out later. In the back of my journal I keep a series of 1 sentence ideas for future blog posts.
Also, digital recorders are great to have with you at all times. Ideas have a way a arriving when they want to and I need to capture them (even when I’m on the go)
Paul,
I need to make more use of the voice recording capabilities of my phone (mobile device). This puppy will even transcribe for me, so I’m really missing the boat not doing so. Thanks for the nudge I need to start utilizing the tools I have.
Nice little tips! I’ll try to keep these in mind in the future – I am a habitual brainstormer and list-builder.
My pleasure and thank you for stopping by.
For me creativity happens and mostly in meditation when my mind is empty and an idea drops in from nowhere. The other is my personal experiences and interactions. The third is reading others blog posts and comments. And when ideas come I note them down in a word file for ideas.
*sigh* quite meditation. Perhaps I shall make that a 2011 goal. 🙂