When Inspiration Strikes! How to Capture Your Moments of Genius

April 7, 2014

After a hard day at work, you get home and hit the sack. But before you drift off to sleep, your mind starts filling up with ideas about your business. It’s a common part of the whole creative process for people who are running a business: giving up sleep in order to hone a creative thought into a brilliant idea.

When the workday is over, your mind should just stop thinking about work and focus on your personal life, right? But that’s easier said than done. In fact, it’s hard to turn down a great thought because these little mind gems come at unpredictable times.

So what can you do when you don’t have the time to tend to your ideas just yet? The best way to handle this is to just run with the flow of inspiration, but keep it to a reasonable level. Here is a list of ways you can store your ideas away to coax them back later when you need them:

Keep a notebook by the bed

If inspiration should hit you in a dream or just before you fall asleep, keeping a book by your bed lets you jot down any ideas that may come while you’re trying to soak up that beauty sleep. This can also double up as a dream journal, because who knows what wondrous ideas could be hidden in the depths of your subconscious mind.

In fact, keep a notepad with you at all times..

Perhaps you’re more of a visual person, or you’re in a more visual field of work. Sometimes rather than being a worded thought, an idea can be a layout of a website, or a floorplan for building. Carrying a notepad around will allow you to quickly make a sketch of your idea to save for later.

Use your phone

There is a default function on most phones where you can keep notes. Fortunately, your phone is something that you have by your side for most of the day. This makes it a lot easier to keep track of thoughts while you’re on the go.

Many phones also come with a default application that you can use to make a voice recording. So if you’re someone who needs their entire thought process to reignite their stream of ideas, or if you’re just to lazy to write it down, this is the one for you!

Download Evernote

Throughout the day, you’ll switch between each of your devices depending on what you’re doing. An app like Evernote can be downloaded onto your computer, tablet and smart phone. If you’re signed in on all of them, it’ll sync and all your tasks and ideas, so that they will be with you whenever you need them. Evernote also has many other very useful functions, so be sure to check it out!

Inspiration can strike at the most inconvenient times, but it’s important that we don’t neglect thoughts that we can’t concentrate on just yet. By simply making an effort to keep certain objects with you, you’ll always have a way to keep your ideas for later. And when the time comes, you’ll be able to take out your notes and let these ideas flourish!