After spending quite a few hours over the past few months staring at blank screens, I now have a running list of blog post ideas. I'm not sure if I’ve always had so many, or if writing regularly has made me more observant. Either way, an unintended (but welcome) consequence is that the list keeps getting longer by the day.
I’ve also realized that if I don’t capture an idea the moment it strikes, it can vanish just as quickly. Most good ideas—at least the ones I find cool—tend to arrive when I’m doing something else entirely. Naturally.
I hate to admit it, but whenever a new idea pops up, my pride shows as a half-smile. If the idea feels particularly valuable, I also mentally pat myself on the back. When this was still a new phenomenon, I’d make a mental note to jot the idea down later. Five minutes later, when I tried to relive that proud moment, the idea would be gone without a trace. And just like that, my disappointment would arrive—with a couple of mental flogs to the same back I was patting.
Lesson learned. Now, when inspiration strikes, I try to write it down immediately—in my notebook, on my phone, or on my laptop. If none are around, I repeat the idea in my head 3–5 times to hold on to it until I can write it down.
Of course, I forgot this very lesson earlier today—and lost what felt like a great idea. But I’m a glass-half-full kind of person, so I wrote this post instead. One more step toward making the habit of capturing ideas second nature.