On Ideas, Research, and A Life Well Lived
“This is the way ideas come: after you have stopped straining for them, and have passed through a period of rest and relaxation from the search.”
This.
This right here...is the magic.
If you constantly fight and strain, the ideas wont come. You are blocked off from noticing them since you are fighting so hard to discover them.
Much like writing good copy, coming up with an idea is all about doing your research, then a bit of active work, and walking away to wait.
Ideas need time to percolate and a healthy place to grow. You encourage them by having an interesting and well rounded life that gives you the chance to make compelling connections.
Life is boring and sad if it is just work all the time - get out and explore things beyond your usual scope of business and comfort…
Go dancing, or have a dance party in your living room (extra cred for doing it while wearing PJs and/or fuzzy slippers)…
Read a lot…
Get out and visit nature…
Take time to really interact with and notice others (bonus points for doing it in person if you are able)...
Watch a movie…
Practice a hobby you enjoy…
Learn something new…
Clean your bathroom…
Free write or journal your experiences...
Pay attention to what is going on around you and think of how you may be able to get ideas from what you are experiencing…
Get out of your bubble and experience LIFE!
Doing activities like these gives your mind a break from the work of thinking, yet, in the non-Alanis Morrisette definition of ironic, gives things a chance to percolate and yield some amazing ideas.
You’ll also find ideas may come to you while you are in the shower, driving, exercising, or just waking up...pay attention to see if you notice a pattern of when your brain is coming up with amazing ideas, and be sure you have access to a means to record them (voice memo on your phone, pad and paper, parchment scroll and a snazzy quill/inkwell combo...you do you, BooBoo!).
For me, I tend to come up with my best ideas when I am writing something else. It is one of the reasons I started this blog, and one of the things that led me to copywriting.
I had to stop writing this post about four times - twice were child related interruptions - and twice to write down some pretty amazing ideas that just *POPPED* into my head while I was busy trying to do something else.
No longer do I grasp for ideas - if I’m writing copy and not getting it out easily, it’s a sign I need to do more research, which leads us back to where we began...
When you’ve done the research, thought on it, then stuffed it away for a bit, I think you’ll find that you too will turn into an idea generating machine.
