5 ways to quickly record creative inspiration when you’re busy and save product development ideas for future use
Hello and welcome to episode 8 of the Elevate Your Curiosity podcast which is all about 5 ways to record creative inspiration when you’re busy. Plus how to save product development ideas quickly for future use.
So when you’re busy with customer orders, finance, family life or general admin it can be hard to find the time for hunting down inspiration. Or even noting things down if inspiration does strike!
So let’s run through five ways you can record creative inspiration today!
I’d definitely recommend adding the Pin it button to your browser so no matter what website you’re on you can pin inspiration as soon as you see it.
Creating a secret Pinterest board just called ‘Inspiration’ or ‘Product ideas’ and pinning to this is ideal. That way you don’t have to define why you like something when you see it and think about what board it needs to be categorised in. You just know that you’ve noted down the spark you’ve had so you can access it later and get back to what you were doing in the first place!
Digital
Let’s talk about the best way to save digital or online inspiration. Create a folder on your computer for inspiration to add images that you find, plus create a Word document that you can add links to quickly if you are going to want to reference any articles or websites later on.
I use Google drive and I am terrible for keeping a lot of tabs open but if you can keep a document or folder open for inspiration that you can add to on the go. Something like a brain dump document is perfect to get everything out of your head (from dentist appointments to buying milk to the new storage idea you’ve had) so you’re not focusing on it while trying to do other things. Plus it means you’ve made a note of it and can go back to it at a later date.
Analogue
I’m a stationery obsessive, and I know a lot of others are too. So if you’re this way inclined then do keep a notebook by your side at your desk, bed and in your bag too. Jot down any ideas you’ve got and try and keep them in one place. So maybe write them in the back of the notebook so you can keep everyday notes in the front.
Also keep a simple paper file or folder you can add images from magazines, packaging you like to flyers. Anything analogue and not digital can go in here for future reference.
We all love a daily scroll on Intsa and the save feature is fantastic for saving things you like on the go. It’s the little flag shaped icon to the right of the like, comment and direct message icons underneath the photo in a person’s post.
Either tap once on the flag icon to save. Or if you hold the flag down you can add it to folders you’ve already created, or add a new folder such as ‘Inspo’.
Screenshot stories you like too and you’ll find them on your camera roll that you can upload to your computer and put in your digital inspiration folder.
Review & organise your inspiration
Ok, so that’s four different ways to record creative inspiration on the go so you don’t have to think about it at the time and analyse each day. Plus it’s probably better that you don’t access it every day anyway!
That way when you come to get inspired you’ll already have a big resource and fresh eyes to delve in and discover. They’ll be lots of exciting information you can piece together and bring out the themes that resonate with you. Plus you can weed off the bits that aren’t relevant anymore.
So grab all your inspiration from the four different places you’ve been saving it and decide how you want to use it.
One option is to create a space in your studio that you print off and pin up things you’re loving and seeing emerge. You can also add post it’s with your notes and ideas on. Then every month or quarter you look at the board and see what’s emerging and resonates and you want to develop further. This is nice as well as it keeps your inspiration literally in your face and around you on a daily basis.
Or go digital and create specific private Pinterest boards from the inspiration you’ve gathered with notes on each image and why you like it. You can also take the images off Pinterest and create a Word or Powerpoint document that groups your specific ideas and inspiration together.
So that’s it, five ways to record creative inspiration on the go and how to review it once you have it! I hope that helps and do let me know if this, or any other tips work for you.
And I’ve got a favour to ask you, if you like this episode or any other episode I’d love if you could take a screenshot and share it on social media. And do tag me in so I can see who is listening in and what you thought! I’m at @arnoldandbird on all social channels. I talk to you and visualise you while I’m recording, but I do record sitting alone so I wanna see you! Plus get to know you and talk outside of the podcast too. So let’s connect as I’d love to hear from you 🙂
Thanks so much for listening today and I’m sending you all the inspiration today and every day. Talk soon!
