Ideas Management One:
Storing Ideas…and so be able to develop them … The first in a series of writings on idea management, development- just getting and using them!
In some form of order which makes sense to me and my ideas, by Vic S. Carrara
Filing, from the word 'File' funnily enough.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary includes among the definitions:
"data stored under one name"
note the one name.
And more to the point, under file away:
"place in a file, or make a mental note of, for future reference"…
For future reference, i.e. you'll be wanting to get easy access to this information again - organised filing.
"The Duke of Newcastle did everything by halves and nothing well.
He invariably lost half an hour in the morning
And spent the rest of the day trying to find it".
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English politician and writer (1694-1773)
Right, I reckon half the people starting to read this have now turned the page! No one wants to know about filing … that's not going to help me make money/be a success/blah de blah de blah.
Wrong!
Boring things tend to be put off. Things which don't seem to give an immediate result get put off. Most people rank filing high in both those scenarios…and they would be wrong.
If you're like me, interesting stuff that you come across in papers or magazines gets kept…that'll be useful - great idea, I could do that with… - must remember that… And, if you were like me, this fascinating 'stuff' gets put in various piles round the house, or the 'stuff' gets cut out and put in a pile. Months, years go by….. All that interesting, useful, thought provoking and inspiring stuff gets lost and forgotten about. All those triggers that have the potential to get you off your bottom and do something ---- Oh dear such a waste…tick tock tick tock…
Well I changed my ways, and what an improvement!
What I did was very easy, straightforward, and without too much cost. I bought half a dozen decent ring binders, some plastic pockets, and dividers. I went through 5 magazines a night, ripping pages out with gay abandon (well he wasn't doing that night), and filing them in different categories. Categories that suited me and my particular interests, Motivation, Business Building, Idea Management, Health, Colour Healing, Massage, Web Site Building, Tibet et cetera et cetera…
And I can tell you that I had a great deal of fun doing it. It was like a re-inspiration session every night for a fortnight. All those old thoughts, triggers, get off your bottom and do something feelings.
OK, two weeks of paper tearing, so what?
I have a set of files. They are all expertly categorised. Each Category sub-divided. Just what has this got to do with idea management, after all none of them are mine.
Sure thing - they're not my ideas but they obviously relate to something within me - THEY ARE TRIGGERS FOR MY INSPIRATION…
Boy's question to Terry Pratchet (fantastic author): "Where do you get your ideas from?" "There's this warehouse called Ideas Are Us".
I've go some other files where I file my ideas as well. Categorised, divided. No don't get me wrong, I don't spend all my time filing things away like some paranoid squirrel. (I was going to put a nuts joke here but though better of it - you'll be delighted to know) Now I've got a system going, it doesn't take much time at all, and it's always inspiring.
Inspiring? Definitely. You'll build up your own unique set of cross references that will guide you in developing your own projects - and there's always the reassurance that your idea isn't as fanciful as you first thought, when you find some validation in someone else's musing.
And, if you (feel that you) have no ideas, well you've got a library of triggers, again relating to your own unique interests. The best ideas are born of the strangest parents sometimes.
Tom Stoppard was asked, "Where do you get your ideas from?" "If I knew, I'd go there."
Well, with your own idea files, you know where to go. Last month I was stuck on what to write about (what me??!!). I pulled a file off the shelf and flicked through it - There was the answer. A trigger that sparked something within me to get typing away - et voila.
So whether you feel you have too many, or not enough ideas, START FILING. Get organised. It won't destroy your creative thinking - quite the opposite - in fact you'll find yourself buzzing with ideas, ready for Stage 2…..
Happy in filing,
Vic Carrara
Copyright 2002
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