How to organise your ideas when your brain is buzzing.

Let me share with you what brought me to this blog.

A few weeks ago, I signed up for one of those Facebook business challenges run by Lisa Johnson. I nearly didn’t sign up and was very skeptical that this challenge would work for me, but I will happily eat humble pie because the challenge was mind-blowing. My brain has been buzzing ever since.

Where do you look for inspiration?

Running a business requires a lot of dedication and as a sole trader, you often work alone a lot. It is important to find sources of inspiration that motivate you to make progress. Attending challenges vibrant groups or relevant brainstorming sessions can be a great way to take some of the pressure off yourself and let the energy of the host and other participants open your creativity to new perspectives.

Don’t let those lightbulb ideas escape.

The next challenge is what to do with all the subsequent ideas that are now buzzing around in your head. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a bad idea, because they are just the seeds at the start of something and can easily evolve into something exciting when given the time and energy. However, it can be a distraction if your mind is in overdrive and it takes your focus away from today’s here and now tasks.

My first tip is, just get all the thoughts out of your head and recorded somewhere so none of those seeds of an idea get lost. Don’t worry about it being neat or organised just jot it all down in a way that will make sense when you come back to it. ( I can confirm from personal experience it is possible to be baffled by your own notes if you don’t write something clear)

This is how it feels inside my head if I don’t write it down. Too buzzy for sleep that’s for sure.

For the tech lovers amongst you, there are loads of different note-taking software available. You could even just use the notes section on your phone but my recommendation due to the extra functions (more about those later) is Trello.com. Within it, you can create boards, with moveable lists and cards that you can edit, tweak and evolve at your leisure.

There is a desktop and a mobile version that sync together nicely meaning if inspiration strikes on the school run you don’t have to try and hold onto that thought until you can get back to your laptop.

If tech is not your thing, Then One small notebook that is easy to carry around with you and keep by your bed is a must. I say just one because like any trusty sidekick you want it to have all the information at your fingertips when you come to organise your thoughts.

How do you like to record your ideas digitally or pen and paper?

Sleep on it.

Even just for one night. Taking that step away and coming back to your ideas list can help you gain a clearer vision of which idea is your starting point. This is where I love Trello, you can add labels to cards so you can see quickly jobs to do 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. I personally like a traffic light system: red- urgent, amber- asap, green- when convenient.

As you can also add due dates to cards and drag and drop cards it means you can re organize things until you create a perfect task list just for your mission.

Don’t get in a situation where you can’t see the wood for the trees.

Undoubtedly you will have more than one idea that you would love to implement in your business. It’s par for the course when running your own business to have a list of future plans kicking around. My final tip is to remember the phrase:

it’s better to do one thing well than many things badly.

If you have recorded your ideas they will be there waiting for you at the right time so take one at a time and give it your full focus to see the best results.

My last tip for you is to enjoy the energy of group work but try not to compare your journey or success with someone else. We are all on our own unique paths you will never get a like for like situation, and it can be a real buzzkill. If you run your business on your own and like to bounce ideas off someone else before you go further then an accountability buddy is a great idea. If you don’t have someone who fits the bill for you then I’d happily be a sounding board for you, don’t be afraid to get in touch.

Finally, if you would like to boost your inspiration in terms of your content creation in small friendly groups of like-minded businesswomen then I’d love you to join one of my brainstorming sessions you can find the full list of dates and topics here.