Good ideas can fuel your business growth, prevent stagnation, and lead to prosperous business relationships and better clients.
But how exactly do you go about generating good ideas ‘on tap’?
There are many ways to get your creative juices going, fuel your imagination and inspire game-changing business ideas.
Here are just a few of them.
1. Go for a daily walk
You’ve probably heard this before, but going for a daily walk, preferably in nature (or simply around the block if that’s not an option), will do wonders for your productivity, brainstorming, and idea generation. Many notable characters and philosophers have sworn by the benefits of walking, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Henry David Thoreau, and Aristotle, to name just a few bright sparks!
There’s something about walking that is almost meditative and allows you to explore new perspectives. You’ll be surprised at what a fantastic thought-generating process walking can become.
In addition to the physical exercise aspect of walking as a daily practice, it also gets you out in the fresh air, where you can benefit from a hearty dose of vitamin D.
2. Disconnect to reconnect
This sounds counter-intuitive because if you’re not consuming content and ideas, how will you get inspiration for new ones? After all, we are all standing on the shoulders of giants.
But taking time out, having a digital detox, or taking a well-deserved vacation or break can do wonders for allowing our conscious brain to relax and our subconscious to figure things out.
Even if it means taking an hour or so before bedtime to switch off the Wi-Fi and digital devices and contemplate the day, using some time in the morning to meditate, blocking out some hours in the day to focus on deep work, or just time to play—with these practices alone, you’ll reap the rewards, not just from a well-being aspect but also to get clarity and generate fresh ideas and perspectives.
3. Mix things up
Trying new things and doing stuff you’ve never done can spark your creativity and reveal aspects of yourself you might not know existed.
Breaking state and mixing things up doesn’t need to be significant or involve much effort, either. It could simply be taking a different route to work, getting off at a different subway, reading a different genre or listening to a podcast you previously didn’t think you’d enjoy.
Just flipping out of our usual routine and exploring other avenues can open up a whole new world. Inspiration can come from places we least expect. Random conversations with strangers or people we’ve just met (another reason networking is so important for freelancers) are another excellent source of inspiration that can lead to great ideas.
4. Look at new ways of doing things
While there’s the saying that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ – and there’s a lot of truth in that, there is always the ‘we’re doing it this way as it’s the way we’ve always done it’ argument to counter it.
When it comes to business ideas, are there processes you can improve on that you might not have considered before and are now just doing as that’s how you’ve always done it? For example, are you sending manual invoices when you could be using invoicing software to seriously speed things up, or are you getting paid in a traditional currency such as US dollars or euros, where it might be better for you to get paid in Bitcoin?
Are there client onboarding processes that could be reviewed and improved upon? Even thinking about these aspects of your business could lead to better ideas that, in addition to being implemented for yourself, could inspire product ideas.
5. Be mindful of what you consume
If you find yourself mindlessly scrolling on your smartphone for hours a day, try to find a way to reduce this and only consume content that is meaningful and relevant to you and your goals. Social media can suck up your time, and there is a lot of negative stuff you might be inadvertently slipping into your subconscious.
Instead, be your own curator. Curate content intentionally and schedule time to watch or read it.
By being mindful of your content curation, you’ll likely find lots of food for thought and inspiration for ideas you can implement.
6. Take note of your dreams
While keeping a full-blown dream diary may take some getting used to, noting any memorable dreams you have can be a great way to inspire ideas.
In fact, if you need to problem-solve or make a big decision, it’s often worth letting your subconscious mind take over when you sleep. There’s a reason why the saying’ sleep on it’ exists – it’s because it is good advice.
Often, problems that seem insurmountable the day before can have a whole new, fresh perspective the next day after a good night’s sleep.
7. Write down ALL your ideas
Finally, make sure you write down your ideas as soon as you have them – and be as specific as you can. If you just write down one word out of context, you’ll likely not remember why you wrote it in the first place. You can jot them down with a pen on a notepad or use a digital device to store your thoughts.
If you want to go a step further, separate them by themes and categorize them. Looking at your idea thought stream and old ideas is another good way to refresh, renew, and create even more ideas!
But whatever you do – write them down as soon as possible – even that business idea you had in the shower! Yes – or you will forget it!
Happy ideation!
