Do You Have an “Idea Dump-Zone”? If Not, Here’s Why You Need One!
Here’s 7 practical ways to capture those slippery ideas before they get away from you, on-the-go!
An idea dump zone is essential for all entrepreneurs or busy people who have ideas popping up all the time. Ever had a winning idea in a shower or driving the car and swore that you’d remember it, only to completely forget it by the time you sat down to a paper and pen?
What about when you and another entrepreneur get into a fascinating conversation and the ideas start flowing so fast that it’s like drinking water from a fire hose? Ever been-there-done-that? Getting into the habit of valuing those ideas is like making daily deposits in the bank.
With ‘idea dump zones’ you have all of those ideas to dig through to inspire you, give you your next product, next book, or next service. Maintaining momentum in business is essential to growth and staying relevant. When you’re under pressure and struggling to force an idea – it won’t be there, unless you’ve created your own dump zones for this purpose.
Here’s some reasons why this is an important habit to get into. Note the word “habit” too. It takes time to get into the habit of noticing and capturing ideas. That’s why thinking about your dump zones ahead of time will help you to prepare for those exciting times of clarity, inspiration and vision.
Personally acknowledge and notice the idea. Not only does this build confidence, after time, you’ll begin to see patterns and themes that will help you to position yourself better as an expert in your field.
Having a dump zone allows time for sorting of priority and profitability or effectiveness. Jot the idea down, or record it in an electronic device and keep it in a specialized folder where you can easily get back to. This saves you from taking time consuming rabbit trails and will be there when you can make the time to give those ideas the attention they deserve.
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What exactly is a dump zone and how does that work?” one might ask. Here’s some ideas
- Types (think of this as your gold coins)
- 3×5 cards
- Word Document
- Voice recorder
- Blog posts – set as drafts
- Post it notes – poster sized and desktop variety
- White erase boards – large and small
- Blank white paper – draw and doodle zone
- Containers (think of these as your treasure chests)
- Blog drafts
- Audio files
- Hanging files
- “Treasure” box
- Folder on your hard drive or in a cloud file storage system
