New Comes from New

New Comes from New

Every day, I create things. They take shape in the form of blog posts, solutions to problems, or marketing materials for clients. I typically write early in the morning, and then spend the rest of my day brainstorming brand positioning and contributing to the design team at Atomicdust.

To me, writing and design go hand in hand. With both, you start with a blank page and an idea, and see how far you can take it.

Writing is easy, but ideas are hard. Half of the time I dedicate to writing is spent sitting in front of a blank document, wondering what to write about. If we’re planning a new marketing campaign for a client, the time spent in the beginning – the actual planning – is usually the toughest.

To combat this, I’ve become a hoarder of ideas. I’m constantly adding to a long list of topic ideas for blog posts, snapping pictures of paragraphs I read in books and collecting screenshots of beautiful design and branding work. (I use Evernote for all my idea hoarding.) I go about the day with the mindset that my job is not just to think about the current project, but to be prepared for the next project, whatever it may be.

Do something new.

No one really knows where ideas come from, but I think to get new ideas, you need to actively seek them out. The best way I’ve found to do this is to try something “new.”

In the age of the internet, new is pretty easy to get to. In just a couple clicks, you can surround yourself with new ideas on almost any topic, or five tips on how to do something in a new way. There is so much new, it can become overwhelming and meaningless.

On the internet, new is everywhere, but it isn’t very personal. And new has far more impact when it’s personal.

There’s a difference between skimming a blog post and making the commitment to purchase and read a book. There a difference between watching a video on YouTube or seeing a speaker in person. There’s a difference between following someone on Twitter and meeting them in person. You’re more cognizant of ideas when you’re truly committed to something and investing your time. You pay more attention. The internet is great, but it rarely gets you out of your comfort zone and into that space.

Knowledge without context is useless. It needs a problem to solve, or a lens to see through. If the ideas aren’t coming, change the context. Put yourself in situations that will make you care deeply enough about the problem at hand to dedicate time and thought to it. This can be as simple as reading a book, listening to a podcast (check out NewTech City and Startup), or going to hear a someone speak. It can be as simple as a conversation, or inviting someone you barely know to lunch.

Rarely do new ideas come to a person in a vacuum. New ideas come when a person’s specialized knowledge about a topic is applied to new experiences. Seek those experiences out, and capture your ideas when they happen.