I like to think of ideas as little fireflies. They’re brilliant and bright, but hard to catch. Now you see them, now you don’t.
That is, unless you write them down.
How many times have you been out in the world—walking your dog, browsing a corkboard at a coffee shop, maybe watching your kid’s soccer game—when a brilliant idea, sentence, or memory pops into your head. THAT! You think. I should definitely use that on my blog/website/email/book. Damn. I’m good.
But on your way home, your mom calls and you talk to her for a little while, and then you stop by the store for some milk, and by the time you actually get to your computer the idea is just…gone. Maybe you still remember that you HAD an idea, but what it was precisely is beyond you.
Not only is this profoundly frustrating, but it’s also a genuine loss.
It’s no coincidence that our best ideas crop up when we least expect them. When we’re slightly engaged in and stimulated by the world around us, our subconscious mind has more space to roam. We’re relieved of the intense pressure we put on ourselves when we DO sit down to work or write. Instead, our thoughts are filtering somewhere in the background of our minds. They come out clearer and brighter.
That’s why…
You really need to carry around an idea notebook.
A small, sacred notebook you use only for random thoughts and ideas. For example…
An original and compelling blog post subject.
A line of pure description.
A catchy name for your new program.
I have all kinds of notebooks I use for different purposes: one for business, one for creative writing, one for big project brainstorms, and more. But I’ve been using a very specific kind of notebook for random thoughts and ideas for almost four years now. That’s a lined moleskine with a beige cover. I’m on notebook number nine at the moment.
These notebooks are thin, light, and fit easily into any bag. They’re unassuming and forgiving. They come in packs of three!
If you don’t have an idea notebook, I’d strongly encourage you to find one. Use it as a receptacle for your thoughts and ideas—and nothing more. It’s okay if you don’t use most of the things you write down. It’s fine if 75% or even 95% of your notes are never used.
That’s because the practice of jotting things down will make you a stronger writer on its own. Carry an idea notebook around with you to deepen your writing—and thinking—process and over time I promise you will start to see results.
Sometimes you might find that you stop to write something in your idea notebook and two pages pour out of you. That’s good. That’s a happy accident, right there.
But there are some things you should never put in an idea notebook.
These include:
To-do lists
Grocery lists
Your accountant’s phone number and the stuff he’s waiting for you to send him
Other hum-drum workaday or non-creative stuff
You want to feel excited about what you’ve written in your idea notebook. When you have a quiet moment, you can flip through it and reread what you’ve written and maybe it will be better than Christmas.
The next time you sit down at the computer, you won’t have to start from scratch.
For the techy ones among you, let me address an obvious alternative:
The phone app.
Or maybe, the digital recorder.
Can these items not serve the same purpose?
I’d say yes and no. In a pinch (i.e., if I forgot my notebook at home—it happens), I’d definitely jot something into Evernote. The bonus there, of course, is that you can organize and file your ideas according to subject, which will be helpful later on.
As one of my clients suggested recently, a digital recorder can be helpful if you get a lot of ideas when you’re out doing something physical like walking or running. I definitely appreciate that (I’m training for a 10k and know how important is to keep the pace!).
But writing by hand, as I will say over and over again until I can no longer speak, allows us to tap into our creativity in a way that nothing else does. When you jot an idea down in your notebook, you know it’s just that: an idea. A thought. A firefly. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.
That attitude frees you up to take chances. It gives the bigger, brighter and zanier ideas that might be drifting around in your subconscious permission to come out and play.
That’s how the real magic happens.
So let me know: do you have an idea notebook? What do you do when an idea appears at an inconvenient time?
YES. I need this. I have done pretty well with my journal (it’s only for journalling…) but I have been prone to ‘notebook-function mixing’…thank you so much for the reminder.
Awesome, Claire! Glad that was helpful!
Great reminder for me I’ve done this from time to time, and it seems like a good time to put to into practice again. I’m thinking this time I’ll keep them in a few different places – nightstand, office and purse included) so they’re at the ready when the aha moments hit me.
That’s a great idea, Gennia! I had a great idea just before falling asleep the other night…unfortunately I didn’t have my notebook handy and had to choose between falling asleep or waking myself up to go write the idea down. I picked sleep, and the idea still hasn’t come back to me!
Yes! I’ve done this for years – there’s always one in my purse and on my nightstand. I think someone should invent a waterproof one for the shower, though. I do my best work in there. 🙂
Yes, a waterproof notebook would be brilliant! I get ideas in there sometimes too.
Great advice! I need to actually remember to write my ideas and thoughts down now!
Do it, Lindsey! Thanks for reading!
Yes, this is so true I have some of my best ideas when I am out walking or cooking dinner…I now keep a notepad in the kitchen and a pen and paper in my pocket.
Yes, this is so important, Nicole. I preach this all the time on my blog. I have my black spiral bound sketchbook at home that is the repository for all the brilliant thoughts I have 🙂 lol. When I’m on the go, I have a dedicated notebook in Evernote for things like this, so it serves the same purpose.
I like that you emphasised the idea that your idea book is not for anything else except that- ideas for your business/online presence. I’ve been overlapping mine with client work like sketches and it’s kind of frustrating to have it all mixed together. Maybe I should have 2 separate ones. Thanks for another great post!
Thanks so much, Trista! I’m glad you liked it. I find myself getting a bit frustrated when it all mixes together…I don’t like how it feels when I’m flipping through looking for something exciting and find an old to-do list.
Ages go, I always had a notebook/sketchbook with me at all times. Then unfortunately got out of the habit. I like the idea of using the notebook for only creative ideas and nothing else, Thanks for the post! I’m going to give this habit another try!
Awesome, Ani! Thank you for reading!
I don’t even go to the store without a sketchbook in my bag! And I also like to emphasize the importance of writing things down in my blog posts whenever I get a chance 🙂
I like to digitally organize my ideas later, but I love the traditional medium of a hardcover book for that initial encounter with a new idea.
That’s awesome, Nela. You write excellent posts, so your system is clearly working for you! Thanks for reading!
I also need one for the shower. I get the best ideas in there and by the time I get to my computer, it’s gone! I recently began writing all of my ideas in a notebook just for that purpose and it’s made a big difference. Before, those notes got lost among the daily To Dos and client notes. When I feel off track, I flip through that idea notebook and get energized all over again
That is SO great to hear, Cynthia. I love it when our past selves can inspire us!
Agree! There’s nothing like pen and paper! I keep everything digitally organized as well. When I’m driving recording my thoughts is a lifesaver as well!
Yes, totally Angela! Which reminds me, there’s an audio note on my phone right now that I almost forgot about….thanks, and thanks for reading!
Fantastic advice. Worthy read! Thanks Nicole. 🙂
Thanks so much, sweet Paige!