Space-time, is a concept in physics developed by Einstein. In his theory of general relativity, Einstein postulated the idea of a 4-dimensional space-time fabric, where objects with mass warp space-time, which result in the force of gravity.

I believe, an “idea” is also an object that warps space-time. At first, the idea starts small. Seemingly appearing from nowhere. If you consider, the energy in the universe propagates everywhere, and when the conditions are just right, particles can pop into existence. This is also the idea behind the Big Bang.

Before I start going on a tangent and sounding overly “geeky”, let me just say that I find these similarities fascinating. But, this article is not on the hypothetical similarities between ideas and physics, rather I want to explore some practical aspects of how to make ideas work, or better yet, “make work of your ideas”.

Capturing Ideas

The fact is that ideas are cheap. Everyone has them, all the time, and ideas come and go. Like ripples in an ocean. The key is to have a system to capture these ideas and explore them. The challenge is how to keep track and what to do this the ideas?

This is what I propose:

1. Capture your ideas: have a list on your phone for daily ideas and note them down as they come to you
2. Follow up on your list: have a system where you review your list and pick the “winners”, that will move on to the next stage. These are the ideas that excite you the most. For this assign “time blocks” (see below)
3. Spend minimum time and explore the options for the winner ideas: this will be a series of questions that work for you. Things like, why, how, what, competition analysis, ROI, etc. If you like to see what my system looks like, send me a message and I can share my template with you
4. Work on this refined idea and complete it: the worst thing you can do it allow your projects to go into limbo
5. Rinse and repeat

Ideas Need Time

To explore and develop your ideas, your system will have “time blocks”. These are set time schedules where you review your idea list, prioritize, sort, and work towards their completion. This is where discipline comes in. If you are serious about accomplishing something, you absolutely have to assign time blocks. Otherwise your ideas are just an exercise in fantasy.

Time blocking is easy. And it becomes easier with time. It is about developing a habit. I suggest putting these time blocks early in the morning (for morning people), or late at night (for night owls). Pick a time that is least distracting and where you can focus. The little time you spend doing this at first, the easier it is to habituate. Once you start enjoying this strategic time blocks, you will look forward to it and spend more time in these blocks.

Think of clever ways to reward yourself at the completion of these time blocks. The best reward would be to see your idea come to fruition when you go through your process and complete it!

Ideas Need Space

The second half of this space-time is, well you guessed it, “space”. As your idea is growing from your mind to paper, you need to allocate more space to it. The firing of neurons happens on your brain, but this needs to be transcribed to paper in order to visualize.

You have successfully disciplined yourself with your time blocking, and part of this is to “space block”. An office-type area where your ideas incubate, where you meditate on paper, where you strategize, is needed. This area is sacred and beyond limits to others. You can have as little or as much square footage as you need to make it work.

A technique I came across is “Scrum”. This is used in the technology and software development world where multiple teams collaborate on one idea. But there is nothing stopping us from tweaking this to have a “personal Scrum”.

Scrum is best explained in this video.

At a more advanced stage, this space is mobile. A work bag with your laptop, notebook, headphones, etc., can accomplish the same thing once you get into the habit. I will write an article on this “mobile working” at a later time to elaborate.

Benefits

What is the point to all this hard work you ask? “If the idea is important enough, it will come back to me”, you say.

It is about creating a system. Ideas and goals come and go. To optimize any action, you need a working system. This system is dynamic and iterative. With every repetition it should become easier. You should aim for automation.

I wrote an article on habits and how systems thinking works. Check it out here.

The human brain has many similarities with how a computer processes information. A CPU has a limited “cache”. This is the buffer memory used to perform computation. It is different from RAM and hard-drive memory. Before a new operation can be performed, the cache needs to be cleared to allow room to process the new workload. The human brain is similar in the sense that we need to clear our mind of any outstanding tasks before we can process new information. Therefore, I propose that we park our ideas and commit them to our idea processing system, to allow room for new ideas.

Finally, once this system is mastered, you will be able to quickly assess a new idea, process it in your mind, crunch the numbers, and decide if it is worth your energy. You develop a systematic understanding of what works for you and what does not.

Now get to it!