How To Find, Save, and Create Your Own Good Ideas
Posted October 30, 2009 in Business, Inspiration 30 Comments »
“Where do you get your ideas?”
It’s a common question. If you’ve ever struggled with writer’s block or been stuck on what to design next, then you know exactly what I mean. The right idea can make the difference between a successful freelancing project and a failure.
In this post we’ll show you a few places where you can find good ideas for your freelancing business, and we’ll also give you some tips on how to generate your own winning ideas.
Create an Idea Folder
Every freelancer should have an idea folder. An idea folder is a place where a freelancer stores items and information that interests them and may serve to inspire them in the future.
I’m calling it an idea folder, but it doesn’t actually have to be a folder. It could be a computer file, a drawer in your desk, or maybe even a box in your office.
The point is, when you run across interesting or inspirational material, don’t just look at it and then forget about it. Save it as a possible source for stimulating future ideas.
Once you have your idea folder in place, you will need to find some ideas for it.
Where to Find Good Ideas
Ideas are all around us, if only we know where to look. Here are ten good sources of inspiration:
- News stories — Be aware of what’s happening in the world around you. The news impacts how we live our everyday lives. Think about how news stories impact your audience. For example, has a great tragedy occurred? You could design a graphic or write an article that reflects that sadness.
- Works of Art — Great art and great literature have long been recognized as good sources of inspiration. For example, one of the best ways to become a better writer is to become a better reader. To use art for inspiration, familiarize yourself with both past and present works of art.
- Forums and social media — Pay attention to these online gathering places and after a while you’ll notice that they are hotbeds of ideas. In particular, look for questions that are being asked frequently or problems that people are discussing often.
- Classes — Getting additional training does more than just build your skills. A good training class can give you new ideas for your own projects. To get the most of a training class idea-wise, be sure to jot down ideas that occur to you during the class.
- Books — For writers, books are an invaluable source of ideas. However, non-writing freelancers can also benefit from reading books. Depending on the type of book you are reading, a book can either train you or inspire you as a work of art.
- Other people – Surprisingly, even your non-freelancing friends and family can be a good source of ideas for your freelancing business as well as an occasional sounding board for your ideas. Pay attention to what the people around you are doing and saying. Jot down any comments or discussions that might be relevant to your business.
- Nature — Another well-known source of inspiration for ideas is nature. If you have access to a park or garden, take the time to visit it regularly. Spending time in nature is not only a good source of ideas, it can also help reduce your stress and help you to relax.
- Blogs — Reading blogs, regardless of whether they relate to your field of expertise, can stimulate ideas. Often a blogger asks a question or poses a problem that you may not have otherwise thought about. It’s a good idea to copy down the URLs of thought-provoking posts and keep that information in your idea folder.
- Competitor’s work – You should always be aware of what your competitors are doing. If nothing else, you should be looking at your competitor’s work and asking yourself the question, “how could I have done this better?
- Trends – Fads and trends are another great way to get ideas. When you observe a fad or trend, you have two choices – either follow the trend, or buck the trend. For example, if everyone else is incorporating the color silver into their designs you may also wish to start adding silver to your own designs, or you may decide to buck the trend and avoid using silver.
How to Generate Your Own Ideas
While filling your idea folder with sources of external inspiration, it is also good to generate some ideas of your own. Even if you don’t have time to immediately act on these self-generated ideas, you can jot a few words on paper or make a rough sketch to stick in your idea folder for later use.
Here are some steps that you can take to generate your own ideas:
- Solve a problem – Are you faced with a problem? Solving that problem could enhance your freelance projects. A great recent example of this is the new site CMP.ly, which addresses the concerns that many bloggers have about the new FTC regulations.
- Share your knowledge — Are you an expert on something? Share what you know on your blog or by conducting a training session. Sharing knowledge helps your freelance business by establishing you as an expert in your field.
- Save some time — Have you figured out a unique way to do something more efficiently? If you answered this question with a “yes,” then you may be able to develop your method for saving time into a marketable product or service. Consider creating classes to teach others your technique.
- Get to know yourself — Knowledge of your own strengths and weaknesses can be used as a guideline for generating ideas that are more likely to succeed. For example, if you know that you excel at programming user interfaces, you can come up with ideas that leverage that strength.
How Do You Generate Ideas?
In this post I’ve shared the places where I find inspiration as a basis for my ideas. I’ve also showed you some techniques that I use to generate new ideas.
Now, it’s your turn.
How do you come up with ideas for your freelancing business? Share your thoughts in the comments.
About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 19 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts
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30 Comments
Nicolas Miranda
October 30th, 2009 at 10:29 amI usually pull motivation from my older works, the works of others And music. Once I have picked up a job. I grab a pad and pen and sketch out idea of what I want it to look like, I pop on my iPod and listen to some classical music or jazz, then open up the application needed for the job and get cracking. If I run into a road block during the project I step back and take a breather. Take a look outside flip through a magazine, whatever jump starts your creatvity. Motvation is huge when it comes to designing. Don’t forget to be your own motvation.
Laura Spencer
October 30th, 2009 at 12:02 pmThanks Nicolas!
You bring up an important point – reviewing earlier work and projects can be quite inspiring.
Lexi Rodrigo
October 30th, 2009 at 12:04 pmIt’s embarrassing to admit, but I get my best ideas in the shower!
I guess it makes perfect sense. Since I’m surrounded by my children almost all day, then the shower is the only place where I can find enough solitude and silence to be receptive to these ideas.
The only downside is it’s hard for me to capture them; I don’t keep a notebook and pencil in the bathroom. But at other times, I always note down an idea as soon as I get it. I could be better organized about it, because right now they’re all over the place – Moleskine and dollar store notebooks, pieces of paper in my purse, my iPod Touch….
It’s also key to go back and organize these ideas into our to-do lists. Now that’s another matter altogether.
Laura Spencer
October 30th, 2009 at 12:22 pmThanks Lexi!
It’s always good to have some ideas to fall back on for those times when we can’t think of anything.
Even if your best ideas come to you in the shower (mine seem to come while I’m driving), at least you can try to remember them and make note of them at your first opportunity.
Dava
October 30th, 2009 at 1:30 pmLast night I wrote a post about how learning seems to spur my creativity. It isn’t a fast way to generate new ideas most of the time, but learning about something new can really get the creativity ball rolling. It may have to do with “deep thinking” or how our brains process new information — I’m not sure. I do know that when I find out about something completely new to me, it allows me to make all sorts of connections and to think about old ideas in a new way.
Time Management
October 30th, 2009 at 1:55 pmSome people are always pondering funny things during the course of work day. Commit to quote one person’s question a day and you will have enough fodder for a lifetime and even get some of your own- how do you think Seinfield got his job or Bill Engvall?
Laura Spencer
October 30th, 2009 at 3:21 pmGreat tips!
Thanks Dava and Time Management.
Sharon Phillips
October 31st, 2009 at 2:46 amI often get my ideas from reading other blogs and getting excited about what I am reading…this usually gets me in a writing mode! I then keep track of my ideas so I can easily keep track of them and fine tune them into full blown productions.
Good blog!
Alex Lim
October 31st, 2009 at 3:48 amI spend some of my time watching TV and it feels good to think that I don’t just waste my time lying in the couch and eating something because I could also pick some ideas from it. I switch channels often; I’m not loyal to any program or station—leading me to various programs of different genre and settings.
I also pull some ideas from my own past and daily experiences. From changes I made, events I attended, and every situation I engaged in.
Juliet
October 31st, 2009 at 5:14 amHi
For me, meditation. That stillness within is filled with creativity.
Juliet
Laura Spencer
October 31st, 2009 at 10:12 amHi Sharon, Juliet and Alex!
Thanks for adding your tips on where you get your idea — all good information…
Keep the ideas coming!
FreelanceShack
October 31st, 2009 at 10:32 amIn my opinion, you said it all with the idea folder. As a web entrepreneur and freelancer I find that sometimes if I have an idea which I do not implement there and then, I can refer back to it and continue.
A great post, Thanks!
Laura Spencer
October 31st, 2009 at 10:55 amThanks FreelanceShack!
Great minds think alike, right?
FreelanceShack
October 31st, 2009 at 11:00 amSpot on ;)
Char (PSI Tutor:Mentor)
October 31st, 2009 at 6:03 pmgreat tips! This is my downtime where I get to review the several idea folders I have and to link some or expand on~ especially to choose ones to put into practice!
Cedric
November 1st, 2009 at 3:34 amdid you actually read anything at CMP.ly? Plenty of nothing — not worth coming back to check out the “coming soon” link(s)
Laura Spencer
November 1st, 2009 at 10:30 amHi Cedric!
Thanks for your comment.
I DID actually look at CMP.ly. That was not intended to be a recommendation of their service.
I just used them as an example of someone who was inspired to address a problem that many folks have been worried about lately.
Ilija Brajkovic
November 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pmI mostly find ideas in blog posts, and save them in task list in Outlook. Works fine for me.
Keith Horvath
November 1st, 2009 at 3:07 pmThere have been a number of studies on brain power and usage. We use very little of it. Most use the frontal cortex for the simpler things. Deciding what to have for breakfast, the frontal cortex brain can only hold 5-7 thoughts or pieces of information at one time. Hence our frustrations – oatmeal or coca puffs- etc.
When we try to sit down and “think out” a problem, usually we just frustrate ourselves. And then come up with a solution when not really thinking about the problem
This is partly because we are letting our the larger part of our brain do the work. This is sometimes called our subconscious mind. A virtual reality of unlimited potential and power.
By taking a problem and letting our mind do the work by is something we all do, without thinking. For me it’s vacuuming,(windows too) cleaning my camera equipment, raking leaves. I see in the comments here – taking a shower, reading blogs, watching TV & meditation.
So next time you have a problem, situation or need to make a big decision, use you brain. It power is awesome. For me, time to clean the kitty litter….
Tom Chernaik
November 1st, 2009 at 7:17 pmThanks for your post Laura. I am glad that you used Cmp.ly as an example of an idea taking root. As a co-founder of Cmp.ly, I can tell you that, after the FTC announced the recent revisions to their guidelines, we saw challenges to disclosure in feeds and tweets and had an idea of a simple method that could be used to easily and clearly identify a material connection. We quickly defined that method and we proposed it as a standard when we announced it two weeks ago. To Cedric’s point above, there is surely plenty more to come in the next few weeks but we have gotten some great feedback from the community that is being factored into the full platform that is being developed.
I also wanted to share my personal idea reminder system, because I think it can be used by anyone and it has saved my thoughts, ideas and recommendations for years of entrepreneurial projects. When I hear, see or think something that I want to remember I simply email myself a note with Lookup: in the subject line. In rare moments of downtime, or when I need inspiration, all I have to do is sort or search my inbox for “lookup” and I have a list of ideas, links and thought starters to refer back to. I hope it works for you too…
Jorge Barba
November 1st, 2009 at 10:38 pmThe previous commenter hit the nail, we get our ideas while not thinking about them and I can relate to sitting down and trying to solve a problem right there doesn’t really result in a solution.
I get my ideas from reading, while working out or while observing people and I use both Evernote and a pocket Moleskine book for capture.
If you guys want to become more productive idea generators I highly recommend you checkout Evernote, it really is like your second brain.
Chris Connor
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:54 amI’ve found that by saving almost all my ideas on my computer or in notebooks, that actually leads to different and sometimes even better ideas down the road. Of course, you’ll probably have to be doing this for many months before you see results, but I guarantee that years after you write the initial idea and have forgotten it, you will revisit it at some point and it will spark a whole new set of ideas. In short, I would suggest: write it down!
Mike
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:22 amI find that ideas don’t always come from a source that I can pin down but at the same time having a keen sense of observance of the world around me whether bill boards, newspaper articles, television adverts or films, I can become a sponge and soak up ideas that I can then draw on them. Sometimes ideas flow and I’m full of inspiration, at other times ideas are slower to form and then I find that taking some time out is the best option.
Stephen Webb
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:34 amWriters block can certainly cause a lot of problems as a designer; if you can’t get any good ideas on paper then chances are the client wont be happy, and therefore your time is wasted, and on and on the effect snowballs. It’s always good to know how to spark some inspiration, and the tips here are a great way to do so.
I particularly like the idea of storing away key ideas for future use. This is a great way to use anything you may have come up with previously and make the most of something that wasn’t right or relative to the work being done at the time.
A lot can be taken from sharing ideas in the design community too. Being actively part of such communities is a great way to pick up not only inspiration but also tips that can come in handy in the future. Thanks for another informative and useful article.
Laura Spencer
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 amWow!
What great ideas everyone has on how to generate new ideas. This is one of the best things about the Freelance Folder community — the willingness to share.
Tom Chernaik — Thanks for coming by and sharing how you came up with CMP.ly idea. You were swift and you were responsive to a need that you saw – two key components of successful ideas. Good luck to you!
Matt Keegan
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:05 amWow, I don’t know where to begin!
I get inspiration from almost anything including by taking a walk, talking with a friend, raking leaves, visiting my kids’ school, at church, you name it.
Sometimes an idea pops into my head & I immediately know that I have the basis for subject material. Then, I let it stir deep within until I have something solid that I can work with.
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