Feb 2012

Do ideas spill out your ears?

Posted by Glynnis

Quick reminder: Roo Mag is giving away two copies of my book today. Stop over and enter if you have time! (www.RooMag.com) Moving on …

Sometimes I want to put a stopper on my brain. I’ve got so many ideas about so many things. And sadly, many days all those great ideas just slip right out my ears and into the air … never to be remembered again.

I amaze myself at what I can forget.

One day I had a fabulous idea for a Proverbs 31 devotion. It was so brilliant I was sure I wouldn’t forget it. And so, confident in my great idea’s power to hold firm, I went about my business that morning. Later that day, something tickled at my mind. Hadn’t I had a good idea for something? … hmmm … what was it?

Try as I might, I NEVER remembered that idea. The question nagged at me for days. I knew that idea was something I should have remembered, and an opportunity slipped away to capture it. One might say God would give me that idea if it was something He wanted. And that is possible – He’s done it many times. However, based on my history of forgetting numerous good things, I think this is an area God needs me to actively address.

I’ve discovered ideas don’t always come at the most convenient time. In fact, they seldom arrive when I’m sitting at my desk with a pen and to-do list. Telling myself to be creative works as well as telling myself not to eat that delicious red velvet cupcake my son’s girlfriend made. (I had two)

My most creative thoughts come when I am doing something unrelated to whatever the idea concerns. Here’s where I get my best ideas: Driving, showering, doing laundry, reading in bed at night, reading the Bible at any time, and hanging out with friends and family.

So, I’ve been on a quest for years to discover ways to capture ideas and then manage them until I can do something about them. Here are some tips for capturing and managing.

Capturing Ideas

While I’m out:

I keep a notepad in my purse

I call my home number and leave a message.

Text or email myself.

Travel with a micro voice recorder. Great while driving.

However, the best tool while out has been the iPhone I bought last year with Siri – the voice activated command center. I use this every day. I set reminders for myself for when I know I’ll be home and write notes in the notes section. It’s been a fabulous tool and well worth the investment. (Note: I didn’t buy at full price – and I know this is expensive. But I’m looking at it as an investment in myself and God’s work.)

While I’m home:

I’m still mainly a pen and paper girl at home. So I have lots of notepads in different places.

However, since my computer is an extension of my hands most days, I’m also learning new ways to capture ideas here until I can manage them. Personally I’m on Outlook most of the day, so I use the notes and tasks options to write things down.

Also, I am using Evernote more. This is a free service for capturing and managing ideas. I’ve yet to master this, but I’m using it in increasing measure and will continue to learn more. Michael Hyatt recommends Evernote. If you’ve never read Michael Hyatt’s blog you might enjoy starting with this post. Click here.

Managing Ideas

Capturing ideas in a “safe” place is critical. Here are three ideas:

1. Use your project management notebook. I have pages in my planner for ideas I want to remember. Mine include: ideas for books I’m working on, devotion ideas with Scripture, and blog post ideas.
2. Create an idea folder in Word. Within that folder, create subfolders for ideas. Here’s an example of what that might look like:

A. Food
a. Restaurant to try
b. Recipes to try
c. Food gifts to make
B. Places
a. Vacation spots
b. Camping spots
c. Activities with the family
C. People
a. Friends to invite for dinner
b. Birthday gift ideas
c. Prayer requests

This is just a sample of one way to manage ideas. You’ll need to determine what works best for you. I’ve found that keeping fewer main folders and more sub-folders helps me keep track of things better.

3. Use something like Evernote to manage your ideas in the same sub-folder manner.

I KNOW there are fabulous programs out there to manage tasks and ideas. I’ve looked at lots of them. One example is Remember The Milk.

Let’s continue this discussion. How do you manage ideas? Do you use an online program? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Grace & Peace,

Glynnis

38 Comments | Filed Under: creativity, organizing

Aug 2010

Lack of Discipline or Misplaced Productivity?

Posted by Glynnis

An online writer’s group posted a thought-provoking question. The panelist reminded us of the Staple’s ads featuring an “Easy Button.” And then asked what makes writing easy. “What makes the time fly and words fly and fingers fly for you?”

It’s a great question. This past month has been very busy. She Speaks always adds more to my to-do list. My children were getting ready to go back to school. And I’ve been playing catch-up after having those same blessings home all summer. Writing has fallen to the bottom of my priorities. It’s not been easy at all.

What makes writing easy for me? Being anywhere but home. Starbucks. Borders. Barnes and Noble. The library. You name it. I could write on a bus, the park, or the curb outside of QT. Basically, anywhere my work computer isn’t.

But I should be able to write at my desk! I say with a pout.

It’s a beautiful desk, and all my writing resources are within arms reach. My wonderful dog Kona sits at my feet. My husband is just upstairs in his office if I need to bounce an idea off someone. The microwave is ready to reheat my coffee and I can look at my rose bushes outside when I need a refreshment break.

But there are also e-mails sitting in my inbox. And no, I can’t fool myself by shutting down Outlook. I know they are there – taunting me with needs to be met. There are projects sitting in my desk-top file holder. My phone rings. The dogs need more water. Life happens all around me and I can’t turn it off. I’m wired to respond.

So I’ve castigated myself for my lack of discipline. Other people can write at their home desks. And so should I. Right?

But I’m tired of berating myself. And I’m not even sure it’s really a lack of discipline. What if it’s misplaced productivity?

If I’m most creatively productive in a certain environment, then I should play to my strengths. Many artists believe environment is crucial to creativity. Think of Monet in the French countryside. Thoreau by Walden’s Pond.

Perhaps for me it is identifying that two distinct personalities reside within my person: 1) The administrative leader 2) The creative writer. Those two personalities require different fuel and nurture. They also require different settings at times.

So instead of fighting myself, I’m investing in myself.

If you are my area this week, at a Border’s Books, you might find me in the cafe, sipping a mocha and writing. Come join me and we’ll start a group of people who love to write, like Emerson and Thoreau in Boston, or Lewis and Tolkien at Oxford. Well … I know that’s dreaming high … but it’s fun to think about.

In His Love,

Glynnis

11 Comments | Filed Under: creativity, productivity, writing

Jul 2010

Celebrating Creativity

Posted by Glynnis

I’m so happy you’ve stopped by my blog today. I’m celebrating a new look and a devotion running called “Rediscovering Creativity.” So welcome! If it’s your first time here, please look around and post a comment. I’ve love to hear from you.

If you are one of my bloggy friends, I’ve been silent for awhile as I put the finishing touches on my blog. Or actually, I should say the brilliant and creative Carol Poortvliet put the finishing touches on it. If you are ever in need of someone to redesign your blog, or do any graphic design work, I highly recommend Carol. She’s a hard-working mother of two, running her business from home to be there for her family. She’s an amazing Christian woman who does almost all the design work for Proverbs 31 Ministries, including our magazine. I adore her. And she always inspires me with her creativity.

Anyway, this blog truly reflects me. I love anything cottagey, romantic and vintage. I know that’s not very popular these days, but it’s really who I am. If I could transplant an English cottage to my current city, I would. Except for the fact I live in Phoenix, and it will probably hit 110 degrees today, and all those vines that would be growing over my cottage would die in this heat. A girl can dream, right?

On to creativity …

If you’ve read any of my past blog posts, you’ll know I don’t consider myself very creative – even though I think I should be, given I’m a writer. You can catch up on my oddities in this post. If you read it, you’ll see that I’ve always been confused by myself, specifically my strengths and weaknesses. Years ago, when I worked in public relations, we often had to set up special events. Don’t you normally think of PR people as creative? I did, and I thought I should be. However, the truth was if anything creative came out of me, it was because I worked with very creative people. But I always compared myself to them, and came up short. Recently, I’ve taken a different look at creativity.

It happened when I read the book ”Linchpin” by Seth Godin. While it’s essentially a business book (which I love being left-brain uber-dominated) Godin throws out a challenge to this generation of people wanting to make a difference. He says that the world is looking for artists – in every genre of society. But sadly, we’ve had the artist baked out of us. And it’s happened, he says, because of schools.

Now don’t get upset. I love schools and I love teachers. I come from a family of teachers and professors. But he’s got a point. We get very good at learning to take a test. We learn what the teacher wants, and then give it to him or her to get the grade we need to pass the class and move on to the next teacher. I’m a great student. But it has hindered my creativity.

I see this same phenomenon on some of my favorite reality shows, like American Idol or Next Food Network star. The judges are looking for the performer or chef to show them their unique style. But so many of them don’t know what that looks like. I cringe when I hear them say something like, “What kind of music do you want me to do?” “What do you think my culinary point of view should be?”

Be authentic! Be yourself! Let yourself go and be your own remarkable self!

God planted art and creativity in each of us. Maybe we need to shake off the fear of the test, and discover the artist within us. And we can be artistic in any given area of our lives - cooking dinner, caring for children, sewing clothes, managing an office or teaching school. You probably don’t want to be creative with your taxes, though.

To celebrate creativity in the kitchen, I’m giving away a really cute apron by Mary-Lake Thompson with a beehive design on the front. Just leave a comment WITH a way for me to contact you, and I’ll pick a winner at random and announce it on Wednesday.

Thanks again for visiting!

In Christ’s love,

Glynnis

47 Comments | Filed Under: creativity, talents