Being productive with a lot of ideas

[That BioMechanical Dude]

I have a lot of ideas... All the time. The thing about my mind is that it needs to be constantly occupied... And even when it is, I get all these different creative ideas, a lot of which are worth exploring. Ideas about videos, about stories, drawings, music, etc.

When I get an idea, I also get the inspiration to work on it. The problem here is that this happens even when I'm already working on something else or doing something important. Therefore, I cannot act upon this need to turn the idea into a reality, cause I'll have to abandon whatever I was doing and that's counterproductive. (Besides, executing it would take a lot of time and f**k up my schedule) So what happens is, I stop doing whatever I was doing and I kinda just... fantasize about the idea for a while... which is also terribly counterproductive.

But I do realize that these small bursts of inspiration and energy can be very helpful and I want to use them somehow. The problem is that they're completely unpredictable (I can never expect them) and I have motivation to work only on the idea that I have at the moment.

So... How can I do what I want to do? I want to be very productive and efficient, I want to execute all these ideas I get, but it's difficult to concentrate on something else and even more difficult to work on the ideas, without them piling up. If I had some kind of ability or tools to instantly bring my ideas to life, it'd be a lot easier. But that's not the kind of world we live in.

I know all this sounds like rambling, but I hope you can understand what I mean. How can I manage these things? How can I... channel the random bursts of inspiration? Is there a way to be so productive enough, to bring most of the ideas I get to life? I hope someone can help me with that.

Thanks!

 

[Le Fancy Narwhal]

I'm like practically the same way! I also have huge problems with just time management in general, so I have tons of ideas, but no capacity to do them. I wish I had a solution for you, but all I can say is that you're not alone in that regard.

However, if you don't already, write all your ideas down, so that when you do have more time you can go to your list of ideas and pick out one you want to work on!

 

[Johnny_Seagull]

Write them down. As soon as you get a new idea, even if you're working on another one, just open word or even a notepad and just write down the basics, then go back to your current project. There's nothing wrong with ideas piling up. It just means you'll always have another idea ready to move on to. I have a whole folder full of sketches and films I've written but haven't made yet. It can make a big difference having an idea ready to go instead of stressing over what you're going to make next.

 

[That BioMechanical Dude]

That's a good idea. Although, I also wonder about the other part: the sudden bursts of inspiration. Those can be very powerful and useful, so I wonder if anyone knows how to "harness" them, in a way. Is there a way to channel them to be productive? This will be very helpful.

 

[echoraven]

Write them down. As soon as you get a new idea, even if you're working on another one, just open word or even a notepad and just write down the basics, then go back to your current project.

To add to that brilliant post, force yourself to finish a project. There is something absolutely satisfying about taking an idea to completion, even if imperfect.

 

[That BioMechanical Dude]

Sorry to bump the thread, but I still didn't get an answer to my second question. Any ideas?

 

[Johnny_Seagull]

Yeaaah, I'm really not sure about those sudden bursts, man. I think all you can really do is either stick with the thing you're currently working on, or switch over to whatever it is you suddenly get inspiration for, and switch back to the other project later.
Someone else might have a better suggestion, but that's all I can really think of off the top of my head.

 

[xingcat]

That's a good idea. Although, I also wonder about the other part: the sudden bursts of inspiration. Those can be very powerful and useful, so I wonder if anyone knows how to "harness" them, in a way. Is there a way to channel them to be productive? This will be very helpful.

Sudden bursts of inspiration, while you're involved in another project, can be a total distraction and a way of not finishing things. The early, creative, burst-of-energy state of a project is the fun part, right? I mean, when you're just starting and everything could go right, and you're not in the boring details, it's the coolest bit. And your brain is going to go to the next cool, exciting thing when you're in the middle of the boring slog that is finishing something you're working on.

So write down those cool, inspirational, exciting ideas and learn to let them go and keep with the thing you're doing. This is what leads to success. Most creative endeavors rely on a ton of boring, not-interesting work to make them into a reality.

 

[echoraven]

...I also wonder about the other part: the sudden bursts of inspiration. Those can be very powerful and useful, so I wonder if anyone knows how to "harness" them, in a way. Is there a way to channel them to be productive? This will be very helpful.

I started jotting my ideas down.
When I get an idea for a song, I pull up my note taking app and jot it down the same with funny observations (good for adding humor to videos) and when I have idle moments I pull out my phone and review them and sometimes add to them. Your mind will automatically gravitate towards certain ideas.

 

[Mirandapanda]

All of my ideas happen pretty much randomly. I use the notes app on my phone to jot down all my ideas before I lose them. Although sometimes I forget what I meant when I go back and reread a cryptic sentence. But in general, when I need an idea I can go back to the notes and find something to do quickly.