Personally, I carry a small notebook with me and whenever I find myself having difficulties with anything (whether it be finding a place to eat, the nearest gas station, or remembering what I had to do at work) I try to consciously think of how I could prevent running into the problem in the future. If an idea comes to mind then simply write it down. The result is that you will find your notebook will fill up very quickly and will become a resource for you when you are attempting to start a new project.
Ask HN: How to get ideas?
21–28 of 28 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#22The only thing standing between you and ideas is your own conscious mind. So you need to find a way to make it go away. Try doodling. A lot. Let your mind go and ideas will flow. Running, bicycling or skipping ropes - it could be any activity. You'll know which one works with you only when you try.
Ideas are often born via cross-pollination. Do stuff and read books, beyond your narrow field of expertise.
Internet/libraries are full of books about idea, creativity & thinking. You'll have to do several iterations to find a routine that works for you.
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#23I agree with _Rahul that ideas are born from cross-polination. I read a lot of business books and blogs, but also read other stuff - novels, science, faith-based, humor, etc. Most of my ideas come from combining something that I've read from a business book/blog with something completely unrelated. Also, something else that helps cross-polinations is traveling to developing countries. Oftentimes, there are so many new experiences, points of view, and ways of doing things there that it opens your mind.
To document my ideas, I just type them in Notes on my iPhone.
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#24There are two kind of ideas for startups:
1) There is a problem, and current solutions are ugly. Think how to fix it and sell your fixture, and you have an idea. Many programmers when faced with some problem will quickly solve it with some script/whatever magic and not even consider that they could turn that solution into a service/product. How to get such ideas: use more stuff, always look out for problems / poor experience.
2) Those ideas that start with "It'd be cool to do X". Think twitter. I've no idea how to filter out good ideas of this form from bad ones, but with enough iteration I think a lot of even dumb ideas can fly.
I've started game dev recently. http://chopperdefense.com is my first game. I did not know what kind of gameplay or graphics I wanted when I started it. There even were no helicopters in the game initially. But with enough iterations I think I made a pretty decent game. While I was doing it I got a lot more game ideas which I duly noted and also iterated on. "To a game developer, everything looks like a game". Top idea in your mind, as PG says.
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#25This classic book: "A Technique for Producing Ideas"
http://www.amazon.com/Technique-Producing-Advertising-Classi...
is short and sweet.
Bascially,
1. ideas are novel combinations
2. immerse yourself in information from many disciplines
3. think of combinations
4. Go away from it -- do something else
5. An idea comes to you
6. refine it
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#26There are two kind of ideas for startups: 1) There is a problem, and current solutions are ugly. Think how to fix it and sell your fixture, and you have an idea. Many programmers when faced with some problem will quickly solve it with some script/whatever magic and not even consider that they could turn that solution into a service/product. How to get such ideas: use more stuff, always look out for problems / poor ex…
Offtopic, but I can't find chopper defense in the app store, how come? (or is it only for the iPad?)
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#27There are two kind of ideas for startups: 1) There is a problem, and current solutions are ugly. Think how to fix it and sell your fixture, and you have an idea. Many programmers when faced with some problem will quickly solve it with some script/whatever magic and not even consider that they could turn that solution into a service/product. How to get such ideas: use more stuff, always look out for problems / poor ex…
Offtopic, but I can't find chopper defense in the app store, how come? (or is it only for the iPad?)
Only iPad for now. Maybe I'll make it universal by the end of December, not sure yet...
Re: Ask HN: How to get ideas?
#28Do you, for instance, have a routine where you sit down and think about new ideas every so often? Or do you just wait for one to hit you?
Sorta both. I don't exactly have a routine that's dedicated to "new idea generation" but I have routines around reading and studying... and I find that a lot of my ideas occur when I'm reading (whether reading a book, or a website, or a magazine, whatever). So, I tend to read in bed before going to sleep, and - a lot of times - after I put my book down and turn the light out, some idea will come to mind. So I keep a notebook by my bed just for jotting this stuff down.
The other scenario is when I go up to Barnes & Noble, order myself a nice caffeinated beverage and sit back and read / listen to music / think of ideas. I also keep a notebook with me on those occasions.