International Ideas Month is, well, you guessed it: a month about ideas.
Ideas drive our creativity, and without them our lives would be rather boring. The problem is that we often forget our ideas, or don’t spend any time cultivating them.
March is the month dedicated to the celebration and cultivation of ideas, as it is International Ideas Month.
Here are 5 ways you can celebrate International Ideas Month.
1. Brainstorm Ideas
When was the last time you sat down and had a good old-fashioned brainstorming session?
At least once a week during March, I encourage you to sit down for half an hour to brainstorm some ideas. I don’t care what those ideas are, they could be ideas for anything. The point of this exercise is to stimulate your brain and encourage your creativity.
If you can’t think of anything to brainstorm about, try brainstorming about what you could brainstorm about.
Or you could try out some of these topics that I’ve thought of:
- Video game ideas
- Story ideas
- Movie ideas
- Ways to save money
- Blog post topics
- Art project ideas
- Bucket list activities
- Places to visit
- Recipes that you want to try
Make sure write down all the ideas that you have during your brainstorming sessions, so that you can refine them later.
2. Write Down All the Ideas You Have
Ideas are like dreams, losing them is as easy as breathing. One minute you have them, and then a few minutes later they’re just a hazy memory of a thought.
The solution is to write down all the ideas that you have.
Keep a notebook beside your bed so that you can write down the crazy ideas that you have in the middle of the night (trust me, they will be strange).
Make sure your phone is charged or that you have a pen and some paper whenever you go out, so that you can quickly jot down any ideas that come to you.
Write down any and all ideas as soon as you have them, or as soon as you possibly can write them down.
You may think you’ll be able to remember the great ideas you have, but it’s incredibly easy to forget them. It could be in 30 minutes, 12 hours, or a whole month, but you will forget eventually.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I sent myself an email about it, I would have forgotten a major plot point in my story, only 8 hours after I came up with it.
I spent about 5 minutes debating whether or not I should write it down. I thought it would be important enough that I would remember it. Can you imagine my relief the next day, when I saw that I had sent myself an email about the idea that I forgot I had?
3. Improve Upon Your Ideas
Sometimes, actually most of the time, ideas suck. They don’t make any sense, they’re not feasible, or they’re just plain crazy.
That doesn’t mean that ideas are worthless though. With a bit of time and effort, any idea can be improved upon. Spend some time thinking about the ideas you’ve had, and find ways to make them better.
You could even pick one idea (maybe the strangest one you’ve had) and have a brainstorming session about ways you could improve it.
4. Implement Your Ideas
During or after International Ideas Month is over, I dare you to pick an idea you had and implement it. It could be any idea, big or small.
Maybe you thought of a new way to eat chips? I dare you to try it out.
Maybe you came up with a way to save money? I dare you to try it and see if it works.
Maybe you had an idea for a movie? I dare you to write the script.
What good are ideas if you don’t use them from time to time?
5. Encourage Others to Participate
The last way you can celebrate International Ideas Month is to encourage others to celebrate with you.
Ideas are amazing in the way that they can feed off of other ideas, so share your thoughts and inspiration with those around you, and encourage them to do the same.
You could try having a brainstorming party. Invite some friends over for a few hours, come up with some topics to brainstorm about, and make sure you have snacks. Then spend some time brainstorming with your group about each of the topics. Let the ideas feed off of each other and grow.
Consider implementing some ideas with a close friend. Maybe write a novel together, or work on a collaborative art piece.
Remember to think of ideas often, write them down, improve upon them, implement them, and encourage others to participate during this year’s International Ideas Month.
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I blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so check back soon for a new post.
Cozy Rebekah 