7 Things to Do in the Event of an Idea Eruption

You knew things couldn’t lie dormant forever.

You heard the rumblings. You smelled the smoke. You prepared yourself as best you could, but underestimated the magnitude.

And now your mind’s on fire, the air is filled with the embers of a dozen burning projects, and red hot Ah-ha is flowing down the side of Mount St. Dwellin’.

You’re in the throes of an Idea Eruption.

“What now? What now? What the hell NOW?” your brain is screaming.

For starters, relax. If this is your first encounter with an idea eruption, it won’t be your last. You might as well learn the procedure. Ready? Good.

Here are:

7 Things to Do in the Event of an Idea Eruption

1. Grab the nearest ink pen.

There’s so much happening all at once. It’s easy to lose track. You need to get things down.

Grab a pen and jot down as many of your ideas and their details as you can. Capture words, phrases, images, concepts, and even the emotions you’re experiencing.

Leave nothing behind. Things that seem vague will later become clear. Things that seem insignificant may later be crucial.

2. Let Things Cool Down

In the early stages of an idea eruption, everything’s ablaze. Every idea seems fabulous. Every related task seems urgent.

It’s time to let things cool down for a while. If something new comes to you, write it down, but otherwise leave things be.

3. Examine the Debris

Once the smoke has cleared, go back and scan the scene. Pay close attention to the things that really stand out. Then look for anything you may have overlooked.

Now is the time to pick things up, turn them all about, and examine them from every angle.

Take your ideas one by one and expand on them. Look for connections. Note the possibilities. Identify the challenges.

4. Sort Things Out

You’ve done your investigation. You’ve poked things, prodded things, and learned as much as you can about them. It’s time to do the heavy sifting.

I know they’re dirty words for many creatives, but it really helps to organize and prioritize. Sort and categorize your ideas in various ways according to differing criteria: level of excitement, degree of difficulty, potential for reward, amount of time required.

Then make a game of it. Come up with fun, weird ways to sort things.

Assign colors to your ideas and put the blues with the blues, the reds with the reds. Think of strange containers to keep them in. What if you had to store your ideas in either a shoe, a safe, or a matchbox? Which ideas would go where? The point is to play with your ideas and shake up your thinking. The sillier, the better.

In the midst of all this, you’ll learn more about your ideas, and a few of them will rise to the top and really grab hold of your imagination.

5. Develop a Plan

Every plan is tentative, but the failure to make one can be preventative. Knowing what you want to do isn’t much use if you’ve given no thought to how.

Use whatever planning tools work best for you. Outlines, mind maps, story boards, and flow charts are just a few of the methods available to help you lay out your steps on paper.

6. Signal for Help

You don’t have to go it alone. Ask for help.

Phone a friend. Hire a coach. Talk to your spouse. Find a trusted resource, whoever that may be, and ask for their input. Good things can happen when two minds come together.

7. Take Your Time

Your idea eruption was not an overnight event. Things were moving and brewing out of view and below the surface for a long, long time.

By the same token, it’s going to take time to make sense of it all and clean up the mess. Relax.

You’ll accomplish far more by working in small chunks each day than you will by attempting a superhero workathon.

There. Now That That’s Settled…

Now that things have calmed down a bit, go enjoy yourself. Grab a bite to eat. Go play with your kids. Listen to some music. You’ll want to be well rested before the really big one hits.

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