Use an Idea Cache to Never Run out Of Content Ideas
Use this simple system to beat the fear and become prolific.
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I’ve known many beginner creators paralyzed by the fear of running out of ideas.
They never start because they can’t say how they can go on week after week. Or they lose steam after a couple months because they “don’t know what to write about”.
It breaks my heart. So, today, I want to give you some reassurance and an idea to never run out of ideas.
Get the ball rolling
I published my first article on October, 2010. I never stopped.
Since then, every week I released at least to long pieces of content (for example, 2 articles, or one article and a video), usually more. I feel content creation runs in my veins, but I’m not supernatural.
The thing is that, once you start creating every week, possibly every day, it becomes part of your identity. You spend more time in your niche. You connect all your experiences with your content.
So, start and do everything you can to keep going, until the fear of running out of ideas evaporates.
But a pep talk is never enough. We need to get practical. Start with this.
Build your idea cache
This year I had a fantastic idea for my dad's birthday present. I’m sure it was great. But for the love of God, as my dad’s birthday approached, I couldn't remember it. I should have saved it.
This is the difference between idea-rich and an idea-poor creators: the former have a system for saving their ideas.
You may love the romantic ideal of the writer furiously scribbling the core idea for his next bestselling novel on a crumpled dollar bill. But I highly advise against this approach. I mean, not just specifically against scribbling on dollar bills, but against saving ideas in random places.
You need a single idea cache with these specific features:
a mobile app,
a web interface,
synchronization in the cloud.
Why a single place? Because if you have more than one, you waste too much time recovering your ideas. Or you forget where you saved them.
Why an app? Because you always have your smartphone close to you. You need to save ideas ASAP. A paper notebook may be fine, but searching through it is hard. And it will probably be in your pocket less frequently than your smartphone.
Why synchronized? Because this way your precious ideas are always saved on a server and you can retrieve them from anywhere.
I use Todoist to quickly save ideas. Once a day, I review its inbox and move valuable ideas to Notion, where I manage my content creation workflow.
Be religious
I now this sounds too simple. But are you doing it?
Creatives shun systems. They look too rigid. But they also create the foundation for our creativity to thrive.
So, try this system for a few week. You’ll soon see the benefits.
And if you have an alternative method to never run out of ideas, share it in the comments.
I have always LOVED Taking notes, writing my thoughts on papers, my ideas, my feelings just everything. I've got over 35 spiral notebooks full of this stuff.
I'm also all over the place, I lose where I wrote it or I go back to find it and get distracted with all the other awesome stuff that I wrote but I forgot that I wrote because my ADHD brain says "squirrel"
With that being said, recently I switched to keeping EVERYTHING in one notebook. I sectioned it out and created title pages. Three weeks later, I've realized that I just stopped writing in it all together because I'd say I'll remember to write this down later and I never did.
I don't know what it is about switching from 35 notebooks to just one notebook that threw me off, but it did. Now I feel like I'm starting all over on a new slate right back at square one.
So thank you for this idea! I'm going to download ToDoList and transfer any notes I've got scattered through other apps in my phone. I'm going to commit to one app on my phone.
I have a good feeling about this one 🙂
Thanks again. :)
I keep trying to have one solid place, but my mind is all over the place, and it’s really hard! Currently I have running lists in Notion, which I really like as a place to organize ideas, but generally default to Notes on my phone. It’s easy and always there. definitely want to get better organized around this. Thanks for the inspo!