Idea in Mind vs Idea on Paper

Everything starts in mind: be it an idea, a burst of creativity or a flash of inspiration. Our mind is a wonderful thing: it projects infinite possibilities and thus starts the process of creating better realities. A study carried out at Queens University, Canada suggests that an average person has 6200 thoughts per day.

That's a lot!

Out of the many-thousand thoughts we have every day some are feeble and some worth pursuing after with all our might. But the problem is remembering such bright ideas long enough to convert them into a viable product or a service.

How do we do that?

We write them down. We expand them intuitively as well as logically.

Transferring an idea from the mind onto the paper- creating a blueprint, if you will- is the first step of converting it into a reality.

Here are five ways you can translate your ideas from just a passing thought to something more tangible-

Keep A Notebook:

Jotting down ideas on a notebook is the surest way to ensure you don't lose them. 6200 thoughts a day translates into more than 4 unique thoughts per minute. If you don't write them down the first moment you get, chances of losing them are pretty high.

Writing ideas down on a paper serves three purposes:

1. It is quick. Within seconds, your idea is preserved.
2. It gives you a chance to work on the idea later, and
3. It brings clarity because you are able to focus precisely on one idea at a time. You've preserved the crux, now you can easily expand it.

A notebook is surely one of the easiest ways to write something on but you can use your phone or a computer with equal effects.

Brainstorm:

Now that you have noted down the idea, the next step is to dissect it to the core and see how many directions it goes to, how it changes its form, and how it expands.

Brainstorming is essentially an open and engaging discussion with some basic guidelines:

1. Invite a group of 4-8 capable individuals (too small or too large groups don't work).
2. Fiercely discuss the possibilities.
3. Do not to reject anyone's opinion while brainstorming. In fact, encourage people to go wild. You never know where a seemingly crazy thought might lead you.
4. Do it as fast as you can. A brainstorming session is not for analysing or arranging ideas; it is to generate them.

Note all suggestions and critique on a sheet of paper. Build on each other's ideas while staying focused on the core topic. You will see how the idea, the seed, which was on your mind a while ago and which sprouted on the notebook has now grown into slapdash collection of vines going in all directions. That's growth.

Create A Mind Map:

Mind maps are awesome. Not only they visually showcase the various connections between the individual branches of the idea (how one part connects with the other, how's the flow, and how you can play with all available options), they are intuitive, fun and easy to create.

A few things to remember are:

1. Always start from the centre and expand outwards - like a snowflake.
2. Use different colours and spatial arrangements to enhance the visuals of the map.
3. Use single keywords for each branch.
4. Use precise words to define the relationship between two parts.

A well created mind map structures the idea and enhances productivity, and since it presents information visually, it is easily memorable.

Design A Storyboard:

This is where you create a flow of events. Storyboard is amongst the first places where your idea turns into a series of processes. You find out what works, where is the bottleneck, where the flow is seamless, where it is not. Essentially, you visualise what comes next.

Storyboards are visual, and easy to follow. They are used in design, marketing, promotion, and of course branding.

Key points to remember are:

1. Use diagrams, images and characters, if you can.
2. Doodling is as effective as sketching a perfect scene. Do not worry about how good it looks.
3. Use the best points you derived from brainstorming and mind mapping. Give them a structure.
4. Focus on the transition from one slide to another. Notice how smooth it feels.
5. For a better visual experience, give slides numbers, and scenes names.
6. Start from the beginning and go to the very end of the process that you've designed.

Just like a mind map, a storyboard too is a powerful visualisation tool but it goes a step further. In a storyboard you can add a timeline. That gives a better perspective of how things are going to progress and when.

Create A Business Model Canvas:

Now that you have a clear understanding of what your idea is, how far it can go and how the processes flow in a defined timeframe, it is time to add elements that matter most in the business- customers, value you offer, cost and revenue. There are countless methods to define your business but the Business Model Canvas is one of the simplest and most effective visual process to do that.

It uses a chart-like style to help you think through the most critical parts of your company. It helps you define:

1. Customer Segments: Who are your most valued customers?
2. Relationships: What kind of relationship each customer segment expect you to maintain?
3. Channels to reach the customers: Through which channels customers want to be reached?
4. Value Proposition: What value do you deliver to the customers? What problems are you solving for them?
5. Key Activities: What key activities each value proposition require?
6. Key Resources: What key resources are needed execute the key activities?
7. Key Partners: Who are your key partners that will help you perform the key activities?
8. Cost: What are the most important costs inherent to the business model?
9. Revenue Strems: For what values the customers are willing to pay? How much each revenue stream will contribute to the overall revenue?

A Business Model Canvas (BMC) summarises the essential aspects of the business plan in a single sheet of paper. If you create an effective BMC, your idea will speak to all stakeholders with clarity and confidence.?

With the creation of a BMC, the idea that was only in your mind a while ago will have finally matured on the paper. From here on, focus moves on to developing prototypes and Minimum Viable Products and so on. These steps are necessary to finally convert your idea in to a physical product or reliable service but putting the idea down first on a paper is perhaps the most crucial aspect of ensuring your idea is not lost.

Notes, graphs, images, calculations, remarks and visual cues all help your idea survive the chaos of the mind and make it meaningful to the world.

We all have ideas; a bunch of them, every day. It's time to start writing them down. It's time to let them grow.