A safe place where ideas can rest until their time has come

December 12, 2016 1:07 PM

Everything I know is written down somewhere. Everything.

This rule is central to my creative process, because I know that if I don’t write down my thoughts, they will distract me.

It’s how the circus inside my head works. Without some kind of structured offloading process, my racing brain can’t quiet itself.

And so, the standing goal is to provide my thoughts with a some kind of external parking spot. A safe place where they can rest until their time has come.

This level of clarity allows me to keep the stream of ideas and visions flowing.

Evernote built a billion dollar software business out of this very rule. It’s the most successful note taking app in the world. In fact, their founder famously said that the hundred year vision for his company was to become people’s second brain.

That’s one hell of a mission statement.

Of course, it’s not the only approach available. There are many tools for organizing thoughts as there are people to think them.

It doesn’t matter what you use, only that you use it.

The point is to make mental room. To unburden yourself. To allow the grey matter to do its job better by filtering out the white noise.

That’s what most people don’t realize about creative thinking. It’s all about the economy of effort. Conserving energy for what matters most.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Is everything you know written down somewhere?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.