10 ways to get ideas

Getting an idea is like trying to find the light-switch in a darkened room; a lot of groping and stumbling and then if you’re lucky the light comes on. If you are having trouble finding the lightswitch try some of the following:

1.Do things left-handed to stimulate the other side of your brain. If you are left-handed then use your right hand. OK - so your make-up might look a bit odd or there’s a chance you could lose an ear shaving but it will do your brain some good and that’s what matters.

2.Spend time with small children. They are very creative and they always ask questions – lots of questions that will really make you think. Incidentally, if cows eat grass why isn’t milk green?

3.Read a book you would never normally read. If you are an ‘arts’ person find a book on genetics. Go into the sections of the library you normally avoid at all cost. If you can’t face a book try a magazine – you never know, picking up one on radio-controlled model planes might just give you some ideas.

4.Learn to meditate. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths, relax and empty your mind. There, does that feel better? It’ll make your mind a fertile place for ideas to take root.

5.Go to work a different route each day. When you go shopping in Safeway don’t always start in the fruit and vegetable section. By varying your routine, you’ll stimulate your mind.

6.Teach yourself to juggle. It’s good for your hand-eye co-ordination as well as your mind. All you need are three tennis balls or beanbags and a lot of concentration. And understanding neighbours in the apartment below yours…

7.Spend time with positive, creative people – they can be family, friends, co-workers or acquaintances, it doesn’t matter which. Spend less time with narrow-minded, negative people, as they will not create the right atmosphere for getting ideas.

8.Exercise. It makes you feel good (if you don’t over-do it) and it gets the blood pumping. Your brain needs a good supply of blood and oxygen to operate at its best. Your little grey cells will thank you for it.

9.Look around you. Try and see things in your surroundings that you have never noticed before. You might be surprised by what you find. Your wallpaper looks like it dates from the 1970’s – how could you have missed that until now?

10.Seize any chance you get to travel. After all, they say travel broadens the mind and anything that does that can only be good for you.

Finally, remember that you can have ideas - don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. You’ve got a brain so don’t be afraid to use it.

About the Author

Christopher Smith is a marketer and copywriter.