Feeling stuck? Lacking clarity? Unsure of what project to take on next?
I’ve been there.
In order to push past plateaus and generate ideas for a business or side project, most people will tell you to talk to people or consume information by reading, listening to podcasts, or even scrolling through social media platforms.
There’s merit to these suggestions. But, in my experience, there’s a better way to go about it: write. Not for hours at a clip, but for a few minutes each day.
In fact, most of the ideas I’ve had for side projects have resulted from writing. In my experience, writing is the best idea generator.
Writing Is Thinking
I was in a lull.
About three months after Hayden was born, my husband and I launched a skill-building planner that we co-created. The outcome of the planner didn’t go as we anticipated. Eventually, we cut our losses and chalked up the planner as a learning experience.
The problem was that I didn’t know what side project to take on next. I didn’t know what I even wanted to work on. After all, my interests and priorities changed drastically once Hayden was born. In short, I was trying to figure things out.
So I decided to write.
Nearly every day for several months I wrote. And wrote. And wrote some more. I timeboxed it, and wrote for about 15 to 30 minutes most days of the week.
Some days I journaled in a notebook: free-writing about whatever was on my mind. Other days I was more intentional and wrote short essays that I never published.
The aim wasn’t to have a final product from all of this writing. Rather, the aim was to get clarity about my new role as a parent-entrepreneur, generate new ideas for future projects, and dive deeper into issues that were meaningful to me. After all, writing is thinking.
After about three months or so, the puzzle pieces began to fit together. I had a better understanding of myself and my goals and aspirations. Plus, ideas for side projects to flow.
I had the momentum I needed.
All of this came from writing a few minutes most days of the week. It was a small investment of time that yielded the results I was after.
Write First, Consume Second
Don’t be surprised if the first few days feel hard or laborious. They were for me, too (and I enjoy writing!).
Don’t let the pen stop, if you’re using pen and paper. Or keep those fingers moving swiftly across your keyboard. Just keep going.
And don’t worry about perfection. Aim to get words down—lots of them—most days of the week. Over time, you’ll see patterns. You’ll gain insights. You’ll extract meaning. You’ll generate ideas.
However, your first idea may not be the best one.
After writing nearly every day, I thought I’d write a parenting book. At that point, I began talking to others and consuming lots of information. These steps helped me refine my idea. What began as a book turned into an idea for a website, Learning Babies.
But—and this is the important point—talking and consuming came after I’d built the foundation that came from writing.
Sure, I read books during the period I was writing each day. However, I see that more as educating myself about specific topics, as opposed to simply consuming information in the hopes that inspiration would strike, which seems to be what most people try to do.
It’s not to say that you can't scroll through your Twitter feed and have a lightbulb moment. It could happen. But, more often than not, a foundation needs to be established for all of this talking and consuming to have an impact. Writing will help lay this foundation.
Do Things Differently
I’m often reminded of a quote made famous by Shiv Khera: “Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently.”
Many people turn to talking to others and consuming information in an attempt to have the next best idea. It’s no surprise why: these things are easy to implement, though not always productive. After all, when people are advised to consume information, they often take it to mean they should be spending even more time scrolling through Facebook. Months or years later, ideas may be in short supply.
If you want different outcomes, then heed Khera’s advice and do things differently. Try writing consistently for a few weeks first. Just see what happens.
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Thank you for reading! Feel free to reply to this email and let me know what you think.
-Amy