Ideas Come In Fragments

Most of us do our best thinking when not at our desk or even during work hours, but during off-hours. Standing in the shower. Driving. Playing piano. On a run. Staring out a window. Walking our dog. Little fragments of solutions and ideas pop into our brain.

But as we start to pull them out and write them down, it’s clear that no big idea comes fully formed. Our best writing is not handed to us by the gods in perfectly formed 1000 word paragraphs that don’t need any proofreading or editing.

Instead, as we’re doing an activity–slightly occupied by the repetition of it or slightly relaxed by it, and never with our phone in our hand– something pops into our brain. It might be nothing, but the more we give credit to these little ideas and write them down, the more powerful they can become.

All great ideas start as something smaller than what they turn into. Some of them even start as “I’m not sure what this means but it’s stuck in my head.”

If we keep consistent notes, if we have a system for recording those fragments, and a process for organizing and going back and connecting some of those hints of an idea, we can develop them into the work that we’ll have been proud we made.

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Caveday is a company aimed at improving your relationship to work. We write regular posts on Medium and send out monthly newsletters with productivity tips, life hacks, and recommendations. Sign up for the mailing list here.

Jake Kahana is a cofounder of Caveday. Sign up for his personal emails, called “The Email Refrigerator” here.