You know in the movie The Castle where the dad is always talking about how the son is an ‘ideas man’? Yeah. That’s not me at all. I’m not a total muppet when it comes to idea generation but I do have to allow space for ideas in my life. I’m pretty terrible at sitting still and in my experience it’s moments of stillness that bring out the best ideas. If you suck a little bit in this department here are few things I do to help myself come up with good ideas.
Do nothing
Grab a picnic blanket and go lay outside for a while with nothing to do. Allow yourself to be bored. The best (and most bat-shit brilliant) stuff comes from boredom.
Look around you
Give yourself a rule that you’re only allowed to use your phone as a phone. If it rings, you can answer it but the rest of the time it should be put away where you won’t look at it. You will never see anything if you constantly have a screen in front of you so go for a walk around your suburb without your phone and actually look at stuff.
Go to a second hand or antique store
When was the last time you went to an antique store and just wandered around looking at all the weird shit from yester-year? It’s the best way to get your creative juices flowing. Vintage clothing patterns, kitchen canisters, rolls of old wallpaper… You’ll have so many ideas you’ll run out of brain space.
Do a one-a-day challenge
Photo a day, coffee art a day, dress a day… what ever floats your boat! These kind of everyday challenges force you to take action and which means you don’t have to dwell on your ideas. Sometimes the quickest ideas are the best.
Do something really boring
I always come up with my best article ideas when my phone has run out of battery and usually when I’m at the doctor’s office. Being forced to wait for something when you have no other means of entertainment is the best way to get your brain really searching into it’s dark and deep crevices.
How do you come up with good ideas? Is it easy for you? Or do you struggle a bit?
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