Having a process also allows you to think of ideas that may not be easily apparent. What's one thing you do to help come up with new ideas? How can you incorporate this into a repeatable framework (for yourself as well as those you collaborate with)?
One method that works is walking in countryside roads. If together with someone, talking about varous matters can bring fresh new ideas. If walking alone, I tend to reach conclusions easier. Both work fine for me.
Im a big proponent of letting my subconscious do the work. I read related content and submerse myself in similar things without much force into creating anything. Then I take a run, watch some v, or cook and let the ideas roll in.
I create a summary of my work for the day while checking out. Th new ideas flood in as I go for a walk in the morning, listening to my favorite music on an earphone!
One thing I do to help come up with new ideas is reflect on my own experiences and how they can be adapted for my audience. This allows me to explore my creativity and better understand how my buyer's persona can benefit from the content I intend to market towards them.
The first step I take in my creative process is creating a list of 5-10 restrictions for my project. By doing this, I'm able to be more creative with my ideas.
I am more inclined to thought leadership ideas hence I use my personal experiences, failures and success etc for ideas. I also like to analyse the market and find gaps. Based on that gap analysis I like to find solutions and those are my ideas.
I like to read, reflect and write down the ideas poping-up immediately. Reading multiple materials on a certain topic helps me to gather sufficient ideas to write robustly. Also, after writing my topic, I develop the content structure immediately so that I can direct my reading around my writing framework.
I have a notebook that I take with me everywhere. You never know when an idea will strike. There's something about a physical notebook. Though I use digital tools for tasks, I find I prefer writing ideas down by hand.
I always seem to have my best ideas when I'm trying to sleep at night. Like you, I always kept a notebook close until I wasn't able to read my words in the morning after jotting something down half asleep. Now I always have a recorder close. It's faster than a phone and works great.
Going out and discovering new places, meeting new people, conversing with strangers, and making friends give me a lot of fresh ideas and the ability to think differently.
I go for a walk by the beach, think about all that's been on my mind and what I can do with it, write these ideas down, and brainstorm ways on how I can capitalize on them.
I write, like I'm having a conversation with myself, and reminisce,then I stop halfway and go do something else,then an idea pops up and I make sure to get it down on my notebook app.
