Spirus writes
Seven top places and five top tips for your Eureka moment...
Have you ever noticed that your best, most creative ideas have a habit of popping into your head when you least expect them? The jigsaw pieces are all there in our minds but they never seem to fit together when we’re prepared for them. Knowing how to make the most of a moment of inspiration is as important as the inspiration itself.
When Ingvar Kamprad saw a co-worker remove the legs from a table to fit it into a car, the concept of flat-pack furniture was born, and IKEA went stratospheric. Often it’s when you stop trying to force the great ideas to come that they start to flow.
Here are the 7 top places members of the Spirus team tend to be struck by inspiration:
1. Driving
2. Zumba
3. Long walks
4. A company social
5. Lying in bed (usually fast asleep!)
6. In the shower
7. The Lavatory (we can’t possibly say loo!)
Unfortunately, inspiration can be as quick to leave as it is to arrive, and all too often the moment the inspiration passes, the idea is forgotten.
So here are our 5 top tips for remembering:
1. Tell someone (preferably not a competitor!) as quickly as possible! If you can’t tell someone within the next three minutes, move on to Tip 2.
2. Text yourself.
3. Email yourself.
4. Old fashioned but certainly worth a try … write it down! (At least one of our team keeps a notebook and illuminating pen next to the bed for just such moments)
5. Change something about your clothing or jewellery and hopefully the next time you notice the difference, you will hopefully remember the idea too. You may not have a handkerchief to knot, but perhaps you could roll up a sleeve, take out an earring or put your watch on the other wrist instead!
In marketing we’re always having to come up with new ideas – so we have to make sure we don’t lose the ones that offer themselves to us on a plate! Of course the trick is then to follow up your initial inspiration with some good old-fashioned action. But not forgetting is the first step.
What are your top idea spots? And how do you make sure your idea doesn’t get forgotten?
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