Have you ever had an idea that you thought would be revolutionary or that would make you a million bucks, but then didn’t write it down and follow-through with it? Then, you see someone else run with the same idea shortly later and reap all the rewards. Don’t you hate when that happens?
The best ideas usually come during the middle of the night, when your subconscious is working away – just like your own personal 24/7 computer. When that happens (usually around 3:30 a.m for me), I make sure that I have a pen and some paper nearby so that I can write down my ideas. You never know when inspiration may strike you.
One of the best things you can do for your success is to have an ideas book – a place that you can record all of your ideas.
What goes into your ideas book?
– future blog posts or even just great titles
– motivational and inspirational quotes
– success stories that you read or heard about
– snippets of cool or useful information
– sentences that you read and want to reference later
– money-making ideas
– future projects that you want to work on
– great dialog that you overhead
– anecdotes from your life
– anything else that you can think of
I prefer to use a pen and notebook to record my ideas. There’s something about actually physically writing down my ideas which focuses my thoughts and reinforces the ideas into my brain. It also allows me to brainstorm off the original idea. I don’t know how many times I’ve written something down, which sparked my imagination into a totally different tangent.
You can use a voice recorder to capture your ideas, too. Let yourself talk freely and see what kind of ideas you come up with. It looks kind of strange to see someone talking to themselves while they’re grocery shopping, while they’re in a bookstore, or even standing in line but a lot of smart phones have voice recorders so just pretend you’re having a conversation with someone on the phone if you are embarrassed to be seen talking to yourself.
What to do with all these ideas? Rather than having all these ideas in disparate places, gathering them into one place means that all you have to do is go to one place to get inspired. You should be consolidating all your ideas – you know the notes that you have scattered all over our office, bits of post-it notes stuck up on the wall, transcriptions of your voice recordings, and all those emails that you write to yourself with your biggest ideas. Get all those ideas down on whatever means you prefer, but have them all in one place.
Of course, having an ideas book is useful without you taking action on those ideas. I would suggest, after consolidating all your ideas into one place, that you go through your ideas and mark which ones excite you and energize you. Then, pick one of those ideas and start taking action on it. Do what you have to do to make that idea come alive and see the light of day. Rinse and repeat. You never know where it may lead you!
This is a powerful tool that you can use to record all your ideas and then motivate you to take action. Before someone else ‘steals’ your idea!
Karen writes at A Meaningful Existence, a blog devoted to helping others put meaning into their existence through practical personal development strategies. You can subscribe to her RSS Feed and also find her on Twitter at @kruby.
I used to have all my ideas in a physical notebook, I much prefer that too, but I’ve found more and more that ideas come to me, or moments when I want to dip into them, when the notebook is not on me! So now I tend to record them in the ol’ Crackberry. Still, I agree with you that it is crucial – it preserves concepts and content that otherwise would get lost and it is also very useful to be able to browse back through ideas that inspired content in the past.
.-= Mo “Mad Dog” Stoneskin´s last blog ..Cheap Dutch Lager =-.
Hi Mo,
Lucky for you to have a Crackberry – the rest of us can’t afford such luxury and have to go old school with pen and paper!
Whatever works. The idea is to have one central place for your ideas so that you know where they are and can brainstorm more ideas when you’re re-reading them. Also, it’s to get you excited about their potential.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Great advice Karen. My problem is I have several such notebooks of varying size. I’m just now starting to do the same via Evernote on my phone since it can easily be linked to the web which in turn makes it super quick to pass ideas from head to phone to laptop to wordpress
.-= Eleanor Edwards´s last blog ..Monday Movers: Make a list by @CatherineCaine =-.
Hi Eleanor,
I know what you mean about having several notebooks. No problem with that as long as you consolidate the ideas and then act on them. Evernote is a great online application as well. I like that you can email notes to it.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
I’ve been in the process of gathering my ideas because they’ve been scattered all over the house, on the computer, and in small notebooks in the car and in my purse. Organizing them has been a good teaching tool because I can clearly see they haven’t done me or anyone else any good by being left on paper and not implemented. I’ve since taken action on a couple and have scheduled some more, so progress is being made.
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..Win a Copy of the 4-Hour Sleep Week =-.
Hi Jean,
Good for you for starting the consolidation task – keep it up!
That’s a great point – they’re not doing you or anybody else good being scattered and not acted upon. Choose the best one that excites you and get moving on it!
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Good advice, I always write stuff down.
A Moleskine notebook is good as they’re so expensive you feel obliged to use it!
I’m always experimenting with electronic notebooks. At present I use Awesome Note on the iPhone which is good. I’ve also got Evernote on the iPhone and Mac but, as yet, haven’t made full use of it.
Hi Phil,
I haven’t heard of Awesome Note, so thanks for the recommendation. Use what works for you – Evernote is great, but if you don’t use it, it’s no good.
I have a few Moleskine’s. They’re too pretty to write in
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Completely agree here. I used to have a few idea files on my computer, some written down, some on my Blackberry etc. Now they are all collated in my little black book – old school I know but it works!
.-= Jorgen Sundberg´s last blog ..How to Get More LinkedIn Recommendations =-.
Exactly, Jorgen! Whatever works. As long as you write it down and act upon your ideas.
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Idea notebooks are critical. I love the molskine ones. I am a total snob about them and make sure I have one with me wherever I go. My only problem is remembering which notebook I left that one great idea in.
If you don’t write it down you won’t remember it. It might be something that you don’t care abotu right now, but it could be profound in a few days when you add it to something else.
-Joshua Black
The Underdog Millionaire
.-= Joshua Black | The Underdog Millionaire´s last blog ..5 Tips for Closing the Sale Without Beating Your Customer With a Hammer =-.
Hi Joshua,
You should be consolidating your ideas into one book because, as you say, you don’t know where you left that brilliant idea.
I know what you mean about the Moleskine notebooks – if they were good enough for Hemingway, they’re good enough for me
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Hi Karen,
Keeping a book of ideas is essential for me. Otherwise, I would likely forget things. I, like Mo and Jorgen, tend to use both paper and Blackberry to keep track of these. And you are right; the hard part is ensuring that you consolidate your list in a way that you don’t lose something.
Also, I really relate to the idea that writing something down will help you to produce other ideas. Most of the things I have posted so far have not ended up being what I wrote in my idea book.
Have a great day!
.-= mark´s last blog ..Identify and Destroy Your Time Thieves Today =-.
Hi Mark,
Thanks and I hope you are having a nice day, too
Writing things down reinforces the ideas, plus focuses our energy. It also allows our mind to spark off in new directions when we are writing down our ideas so that new ideas come to us.
I easily forget things too, so writing them down is essential.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Excellent info Karen and I couldn’t agree anymore with this article. I’m a huge fan of jotting down thoughts and ideas. I have more written down than time could every allow me to complete.
I need to hold more events to get the out there…
BrandonBurgh
.-= BrandonBurgh´s last blog ..Alexa, Traffic, and Blogging Story Mindmap =-.
Hi Brandon,
If you have too many ideas, how do you evaluate them? Which is why you should go through all of your ideas and act on the ones that excite you. That will motivate you to follow-through on those ideas. You are then able to see whether they are feasible or not.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Karen, I use a digital voice recorder for my ideas, and then I save everything in Word documents.
Having my ideas in Word documents allows me to move them from one project to another, reorder based on priority, and delete when necessary.
.-= John Soares´s last blog ..Facebook Privacy — Should You Leave Facebook? =-.
Hi John,
Youre the first person to admit that they talk to themeslves
I wonder who else uses a voice recorder to record their ideas?
Whatever works!
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
That’s an awesome idea. I keep a book with blog post ideas, but I never thought about adding motivational quotes.
You can add anything you want – it’s your ideas book. Maybe some motivational quote will spark off into a great money-making idea – you never know!
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
As an aside, Moleskine is an interesting product. Imagine marketing an old-fashioned notebook with a weird name that sells for ten times the price of a conventional notebook but offers no additional features.
However, in the last couple of years the brand profile has been remarkably raised. Brilliant and very inspiring!
Hi Phil,
Yeah, it’s an definitely an amazing case-study for branding, that’s for sure. Just some paper and covers, but they sure cost a premium.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
I wouldn’t be able to live without my idea book. I recently had to take some time to organize it though, because it was getting a bit out of whack. So I create a Word document that I use for blog post ideas, titles and brief outlines. When ever I need to down and write, I just open up that file and pick out whatever I’m in the mood to write about and it makes writing that much easier.
Sometimes I create such great outline notes that when I sit down to write the post it only take half the time. I think my thoughts would drive me crazy if I didn’t have some where to jot them down. I learned this the hard-insomnia-way
.-= Kiesha @ We Blog Better´s last blog ..Purpose Driven Life Book Drawing Results =-.
You got the idea, Kiesha!
It can be a real time-saver to have all your ideas in one place and have notes about them. Makes things much easier.
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
That’s awesome – I have my own idea/ sketch book – because I luv drawing.
I tried the voice recording as well, but it’s not as fun – you have to eventually write it down
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..Why Standing out can bring Amazing Results ! =-.
I haven’t tried the voice recording either, Mars. Guess there’s soemthing about talking to yourself while out in public
I hear that you can get transcripts though if you send a company the audio files. Not sure if it would be worth it though – they might steal your ideas!
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Great things start from small beginnings.
This reinforces what I’m trying to do plus more. No matter how small or vague it is, just jot it down. You’ll never know how good it will become. Maybe a million dollar idea as you’ve mentioned.
Although I have an Evernote account (and other similar services), I use Google Notebook for its simplicity and ability to section. Hmm, maybe I’ll create/develop something similar but useful for me. I’ll call it “IntelliDeas” or “iDea.” Now that’s an idea! And it’s already recorded here.
Thanks Karen. Have a good one.
.-= Gines´s last blog ..Domain Name as Our Contact Detail? =-.
Hi Gines,
I have used Google Notebook as well, but not really for ideas – more for longer articles. I quite like that it’s part of the Google cloud applications and can be accessed from anywhere.
iDea –> love it!!
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
I have a bunch of notebooks lying around that I tend to use for to do lists, grocery lists, lists of every kind. I even write down ideas for fiction stories that pop into my head. BUT I haven’t been putting my website ideas or goals into this book. IT is something I need to do because I find that I am more likely to act on something if I write it down. Doesn’t it feel great to put a stroke through a to do item as you complete it?
Hi Jane,
It does feel great to stroke through items on your todo list.
I think an ideas book is a little different though from your other writings. It should be a place that stores your creative outputs and future projects, not grocery lists.
Perhaps a book for your day-to-day todos, grocery lists, reminders, etc and another book just for ideas is needed?
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
Hi Karen, I sort of do this with Evernote. Although I do have a Moleskine book that I write notes from all the books I’ve read. I’ve just bought a livescribe pen and I’m going to test it out as a searchable notetaking tool.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Blog Giveaway: The 20 x 7 Rule – The Result =-.
Hi Matthew,
Very cool! I was looking at those pens a while back. How are you finding it? Is it too clunky to write with and are you more productive?
Looks like a lot of people are using Evernote. A good portion prefer paper (Moleskine). Whatever works!
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..What If You Only Had One Week? =-.
I use a notepad to write down my ideas and find that it’s very helpful. Sometimes if I’m out I’ll key an idea in my memo pad of my blackberry. I also agree that it’s best to write down via pen and paper. I’ve heard that when you’re writing down your ideas you’re accessing a different part of your brain, a more creative part. I don’t know if it’s true but I just heard.
Great post, Karen! Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Jarrod,
It’s absolutely true that writing down things activates a different part of your brain. We don’t need to be scientists to know that!
It sounds like you use a variety of methods, but as long as you are happy with your system and it works, that’s great. I would suggest consolidating the ideas into one book though so none of them get lost or ‘stolen’.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..How to Stop Thinking and Start Doing – Guest Post =-.
Ill keep this short because others have touched on what I think too.
You are an ideas woman Karen. Not just for the awesome post, but also for the fact that you have a book to convey these thoughts.
I agree with this and have a couple of books, one at home and one at work – to write down inspiration and ideas. The fact that I have a memory like a goldfish probably does not help…
…oh look, a castle…..
.-= Alex´s last blog ..How to Write A Review that Sells! =-.
Hi Alex,
Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. You made my day!
My memory can be bad, too, which is why I have to write stuff down!
Much appreciated,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..How to Stop Thinking and Start Doing – Guest Post =-.
Hi Karen,
Didn’t think I would reach the end of the comments to make my own
Am I the only one not using a notebook for my blog? When I get an idea I simply put it in a draft, even if its just a title. When I look at them again I know exactly what it is I want to write. My pc is on just about 24/7 and is much easier than trying to find another pen that my lovely daughter keeps pinching for school.
Thanks Karen.
.-= Maria´s last blog ..Blogging, Lipstick and Killer Heels =-.
Hi Maria,
Nothing wrong with relying on an electronic version at all. Whatever works! I just find that sometimes going back to the ‘old school’ method of physically writing down things on pen and paper allows your brain to come up with new ideas and brainstorm. I come up with different ideas at different points so I’m not always in front of a computer when the best ones hit. Plus, it’s faster to write down things than to type sometimes – particularly when you are prepared with pen/paper in strategic areas around the house and with you.
Thanks,
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..How to Stop Thinking and Start Doing – Guest Post =-.