Five ways to tame the flow of ideas

I loved Peter's Four things format last week and figured I'd 'borrow' the idea…and up the ante to five. Just to keep him on his toes.

Evidently plagiarism is my sin du jour, as it was Megan Hill's recent piece on mind mapping that got me pondering the theme of ideas.

Mind mapping is wonderful, but I find that ideas often flow well before they're ready to be meaningfully dissected. Unless they are managed properly, ideas can be disruptive to productivity and focus.

I've talked before about the danger of pursuing too many ideas at once, and plenty of soloists, myself included, are guilty of this. I believe that ideas need to be tamed. Here's are five tools I use:

1. A manila folder

Exciting stuff, eh? A dedicated location for capturing my stream of ideas means they can move out of my head and into the folder. The relief is immediate.

2. A pen or pencil

Post-its, A4 sheets, serviettes, the back of business cards or envelopes…it matters not. When an idea comes I transcribe it and toss it into the folder. Neatness and order is not an issue at this stage, that comes later.

3. A dictaphone

I carry a digital recorder with me most of the time and blather in it whenever an idea pops up. Alternatively, I’ll use my mobile and leave a message on my voicemail. ("Hello Robert. It's Robert…") Later I scribble the idea down on paper and yup, into the folder it goes.

4. A whiteboard

Wouldn't be without one. Often something pops up that has no immediate meaning or relevance. A couple of days on the whiteboard and it's either expanded into something tangible or it's wiped.

5. My fingers

Next time you pick up a paper or magazine in your favourite café and find a snippet torn out, chances are it was me. I do this all the time and yes…straight into the folder it goes.

As you may imagine it's not long before my folder is bursting with ideas at which point mind mapping comes in. It's amazing how with a bit of effort, a hotch-potch of ideas will morph into an ordered plan.

For every folder that generates something valuable, many more get trashed. The overall benefit is that ideas no longer steal my focus, instead they hover pleasantly in the background like the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

Thoughts? Share your tips and ideas below.

Until next week.

Love your work,

Robert Gerrish is Flying Solo’s managing director and founder and works as a business coach, professional speaker, business commentator and consultant. He’s the co-author of Flying Solo – How to go it alone in business.

17 comments | Add your own 1 2 3 | Next» View all»

I am certainly guilty of even just 'thinking' about too many ideas and having them stored all over the place. I got around this by using only one MS Word file on my desktop. Every time I had an idea I would write the idea into the document. For those detailed types amongst us, who like to set things out, this is not allowed in your Ideas File. Its one continuous paragraph per idea. Write the idea in the order it comes of your head and then save. This "dump" approach works for me as it, 1) gets the idea out of my head, 2) keeps them in one place, 3) stops me from trying to perfect it now and 4) I can add to quickly. . Try it, you'll love it. Just remember to password it so your ideas are secure. Brian Matthews from Brisbane
Hi Robert - are you the one wot also does the crosswords? Hi Brian - good thinking - I do that with tricks I learn to keep up with Microsoft-coping tricks, but I don't password it because I'd need a folder to store the password! My 30 year habit is to carry a little spiral-bound notepad and a near-new pen in my shirt pocket. I'm now thinking of buying an all-in phone with emails and dictation functions etc Does anyone have any suggestions on what phone to buy............please? Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
I have observed how ideas take over and consume some of my clients at all to the point where they lose focus in their productive/billable hours. I use the same manilla folder concept as Robert described, and I put everything in there. I even have a notebook by the bed for those inspired moments between the sheets! Another is carried in my handbag because I got tired of transcribing the envelopes & scraps of paper later! There is still another in the car. You never know when a good idea is going to hit. Some of my best ideas/solutions come on the home leg of my cardio workouts - and then I have to write it down as soon as I get near paper & pen. Whiteboards is where the ideas in the folder grow legs or die. This keeps me focussed in productive hours and organised in my thoughts! Remember, you can't just keep collecting, you have to sort through them at some point in time. And here was me thinking, it was only me who either take or damage the whole magazine. Nice to know I keep good company in this practice. LOL Laynie Kelly from Business & Office Solutions Centre
Great idea. I used to save files on my computer under Excel, Word formats and even notes in Outlook. Only problem was sometimes when I wanted to record an idea I was in bed and the computer was off, or the kids had taken over my laptop to play games! I got a school exercise book and found it wonderful to jot down any ideas that come into my head for my latest project of expansion. New idea = new page. It's great having some sort of central point to find a thought of last week and being able to expand in freehand (sometimes better than typing longhand) existing ideas. Anthony Dohrman from Gisborne, NZ
I do all of those things too, but I have also strived to bring creativity into problem solving and slot a time aside each week to do it using the mass of ideas I collate.
I have a word file divided into two columns. All my ideas that I think of I cut/paste or write into the LHS of the page. Then down the RHS I write a list of problems that these ideas can solve in no particular order. Where one idea can solve or partly solve a problem I draw a line between them.
Before long I find that the ideas and problems merge into something I would never have thought of at all. At the bottom of the page I write a two sentence description of the problem and solution I have created and then wait for the next week. Sometimes I discard the ideas from the folder to start fresh, other times I carry them over to the next week. I am always amazed at what pops up from seemingly unconnected ideas/issues. Mike Williams from Melbourne
Robert - a man after my own heart! I've long been known as the list queen in my family!. I too have a file of scrap thoughts and a collection of serviettes with gripping ideas jotted on all angles. Ideas are the sign of a fertile mind - unfortunately partners go crackers when they find the newspaper demolished before they 've read it , so my solution is to note the page numbers you plan to rip out on the front page of the paper, leave a directional mark on the actual page so you can easily find your way when the coast is clear to rip out your gems. Sherryn McBride (www.marketingtalk.com.au) from Perth WA

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