I sit here and ponder a good blog post topic. It’s frustrating because it seems that I have all these great ideas that I want to write about, but rarely when I’m actually at a computer and in writing mode.

This tells me two things:

1) My mind is more creative when I’m unplugged. I get a LOT of good thoughts (well, I think they’d be good :>) while I’m running. Part of that might be the “runner’s high” and stimulated by the workout itself. But I also get good ideas while walking in the woods, or out on a boat (fishing or chilling), or sometimes while reading a book. The ideas come at me at all sorts of times, but they definitely come at me more when I’m offline than when I’m online. When I’m online I’m generally focused on a task so I guess that hinders the creative juices.

2) I need to make notes. I get these ideas, then they’re gone. Sometimes they last and I can still recall them when I’m in writing mode, but more often than not – they’re done. I need to figure a good way to take notes on these ideas while I’m offline. Perhaps I need to start a practice of pulling out my phone and dictating a note message to myself; or using a “notes app” to jot down a few ideas. Or maybe I need to go totally old-school and keep my notebook near me (yes, I do have an actual paper notebook that I take to some meetings).

So to maintain my creativity and idea-flow, I need to make sure I’m spending a decent amount of time unplugged, and I need to develop a good practice on taking notes for these ideas.

When do you have your best ideas? And what do you use to take notes of these ideas for later reflection?