4 Ways to Make Sure You Catch Your Next Big Idea Before It Passes You by

Research suggests that we have between 40,000-70,000 thoughts a day. We carry out most of our daily activities without even thinking. These can include brushing our teeth, driving a car or even breathing. So most of these 70,000 thoughts are new thoughts, how many do you pay attention to?

Within all of these thoughts, there is at least one a day that could change your life or the world as we know it, but how many do we let slip through our fingers never to be thought of again?

Here are some great ways to ensure that those ideas don’t pass you by:

1. Journal In The Morning

You’ve been asleep for 8 hours, imagine what magnificent thoughts have been running through your mind all night. We need to get them down on paper. This is why it’s a perfect time to journal. Write anything down that you’re feeling or thinking. Go crazy and write as if no one else will read it. It doesn’t even have to make sense.

When we wake up those thoughts can slowly dissolve as the day progresses. The sooner we can get our ideas down the better. There’s nothing like a fresh idea in the morning to start your day right.

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss

2. Use A Notebook or Dictaphone Every Day

No day is ever the same in our lives. You come across different problems each day which present different thought processes. You may have a solution in mind for a problem that you’ve found, again this has to be recorded or written down before your next thought comes along.

Having a notebook or a Dictaphone is one of the most important things to do if you’re going to change anything. If you like to sketch ideas, or mind map then a notebook is great. If you’re a person that doesn’t have those extra 20 seconds to write something down then grab a Dictaphone and record.

Again these notes or recordings don’t have to make sense, just make sure they are down somewhere as soon as possible. Are you seeing the theme here? Get the ideas down as soon as possible with as much detail as possible.

3. Use Social Media To Get Instant Feedback

Thought and ideas are great things to have throughout the day, but it is even better to get instant feedback. The majority of this audience have access to one form of social media, on their phones, so get your ideas on there.

Ask your audience “Would people benefit from an App that gives fashionable clothing suggestions for today’s weather?” This will give you instant feedback. No waiting for surveys or sending out hundreds of emails. People love interaction on social media, why not get them interacting with your ideas to get some real and quick feedback?

“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.” – Bill Gates

4. Recap At The End Of The Day

At the end of every day you need to re confirm your ideas in your mind, so they don’t slip away again. Take your notebook or your Dictaphone and write down each idea or thought again in a more detailed form, with a bit more structure. Having a nice notebook for this makes the experience more enjoyable.

This practice of writing each idea down again will reconfirm them in your mind, so you’re more likely to act on them. Remember this has to happen on that day, if you go to sleep in between writing the idea down and reconfirming it then some of the “magic” of that idea has gone. Don’t leave it too long.

It’s all about catching these ideas before they pass you by. The quicker and the more detail you can put into each one, the more ingrained those ideas will become in your mind. This way you are much more inclined to act on them.

What do you do on a daily basis to ensure that you don’t miss any golden ideas? I’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments below!