Doing More of What Sparks Your Best Ideas
Even if that's something frivolous or mundane
Most of us who’ve been creating for any length of time have worked out that inspiration can strike at any time, except perhaps while you’re actually staring at a blank page (or canvas) wanting to start something brand new.
This week I’ve been browsing through these 63 principles from Nabeel S. Qureshi. Coming in at #49 is a simple but vital piece of advice.
“Figure out what gives you new ideas, and make sure you incorporate that into your routine. For me this is talking to people, tweeting, writing in my notebook, long conversations with friends (especially late night or while walking). For other people this is showering, baths, long walks, runs, etc. Make sure you “harvest” these ideas too, i.e. write them down somewhere so they don’t get lost.”
Personally I find long walks and deep conversations do it for me. But so does:
Reading (both fiction and non-fiction)
Watching documentaries and listening to podcasts
Being a passenger (in a car, bus, train, or ferry)
Chilling on the beach in winter people-watching
Letting my mind wander freely in the ten minutes after I wake up from a deep sleep
Extra tip: Fall asleep reading. Wake up with ideas.
I’m a big fan of sleeping. I’ve even taken an online course in sleeping better. It’s called The Science of Better Sleep and is available through Masterclass. I summed up my main takeaways from it in this article.
One is that you need sleep to help you learn new information. Getting a good night’s sleep after learning something new actually helps cement the learning. I find it also helps me make new connections and come up with new ideas to expand on in my next piece of writing.
Maybe you get your best ideas while day dreaming, drinking wine, or getting a massage. Maybe you get them while doing chores or scrolling through social media.
It doesn’t matter if frivolous (or mundane) activities give you ideas, as long as the ideas themselves - and how you develop them - are worthwhile.
Your task for today is to simply have a think about what activities help spark new ideas for your writing. Then do more of them, with a note-book or device to hand to record those ideas.
Some thoughts from others I’ve been enjoying this week
How to find the stuff you’re dying to write about by Alex Mathers
How I Used Storytelling To Write 6 Books by
Now Is The Worst Time To Raise Your Subscription Prices (Better Alternative Inside) by
What else I’ve been up to this week
Reading: 19 Tiny Habits That Lead To Huge Results by Nicolas Cole (free on Kindle Unlimited)
Watching: The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel
Enjoying: Organising and rationalising my paperwork (shredding is so satisfying)
Working on: Some new product ideas for my Gumroad storefront.
This week’s Medium posts
(Friend links, as always, so you can read for free if you’re not a member.)
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