A Train of Ideas

To some of you, who have more ideas than you can manage, it might feel like being on a runaway train.

And to some of you, who are yearning for just having some ideas to work on, it might feel like no train is worth taking.

For either of you, the right ideas aren’t coming on schedule, a schedule that works for you.

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Maybe there would be a way to create ideas on a schedule. A dedicated time, maybe once a month, for churning out a list of ideas. Bad ideas, variations of an idea, big ideas, small ideas. Ideas that feel related. Ideas that feel random. Loose thoughts provoke ideas.

Maybe there would be a way to put aside a different time, this one to review your ideas, and then you box them into a time slot. You’ll have more of these in the future. Now’s not the time to do them all, just the ones that fit. Ideas smashed into bets.

Maybe there’s a time when you execute on ideas, and when an idea comes, you let it pass. Maybe you write it down in a fresh place. You don’t judge the idea, you don’t execute on the idea. It’s not time, because you had made a promise to work on this other idea. There will be times in the near future to create ideas. Bets require patience.

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This seems like a healthy way to assemble, to decide on, and to execute on ideas. There’s a cadence, there’s a schedule. To those with too many ideas, a place and a time to deal with them. To those with too few, a place and a time to create them.

Bad ideas beget better ideas. Better ideas get you to the great ideas.