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Not sure how to capture all of those big ideas in your brain? Your temporal lobes will thank you for helping them out when you use these 5 easy methods.

I don’t have a shortage of big ideas in my noggin. For me, the fleeting ones are the worst. If I don’t capture them, I’ll forget them, and I can’t afford to let that happen now.

In this post, I’ll focus on 5 methods to capture and visualize the big ideas.

You know, the ones that require simple plans. That are big because they’re seemingly impossible. And have the power to:

• Compel you to action.
• Keep you up at night.
• Contribute to the greater good of the planet.
• Create a shift in the status quo.

On my journey of making my ideas blossom, I’ve learned 3 valuable lessons about big ideas.

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Lesson 1: Big ideas need space and room to evolve, flex, and adapt.

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I said this before.

If you jump straight away to the detail of the big idea, you might find later that your big ideas have morphed into something else. You have a hard time shifting course because you actually delved too far into the details of it.

Space for your big ideas, say like a wall in your office or basement, gives them room to grow, and convey the big picture of what you’re attempting to accomplish. This space can also be a place to anchor and map your big ideas to smaller ones that require a little more detail.

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Lesson 2: Big ideas need constant visibility.

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More than likely, when you see these ideas often, you’ll absorb their potency, be reminded of their power, and hopefully motivated to take action. 

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Lesson 3: Big ideas benefit from the input of others.

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I know there are those of you who are afraid to share your ideas with others. Afraid that they’ll laugh at you and your idea. More afraid that they’ll “steal” your idea? Whatever your fear, you should probably consider letting it go so you don’t miss the opportunity to harness the benefits of community.

I’ve shared most of my big ideas with someone, including the ones I’ll share below. Letting others in on my ideas has been essential to refining them. And by sharing them with my trusted circle, I’ve been held accountable and supported to take action.

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The 5 easy methods

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No matter your profession, purpose, or passion, adopt a method to help you capture your ideas. Keep in mind the pesky, little-detailed ideas need a different kind of treatment. I’ll focus on those in another post. For now, examine these 5 methods to capture the big ones.

1. A chalkboard wall

I love my chalkboard wall in my office. I initially used mine to create a mind map of ideas for GoneGirlGo before I relaunched in April 2016. It was nothing fancy, but it worked like magic to keep me motivated and open to exploring possibilities.

I’ve also used my chalkboard wall to capture business ideas that I’ve thought about and my monthly goals. Whenever I sit at my desk, whatever ideas I’ve captured on my chalkboard wall, I reminded of them. And often seeing them emboldens me to take action.

Check out my Pinterest board Chalk. It. Up. for ideas and inspiration if you’d like to create a chalkboard wall. On Pinterest, I learned how to prep my wall before I painted it and some cool, chalk lettering techniques. 

2. A whiteboard

A few weeks ago, I conducted a workshop on stability and balance at a women’s retreat. I created a handout, but I didn’t have an agenda, so I created this on the whiteboard.

Having the agenda mapped out for all participants to see helped me stay focused and reinforce my main point. It also was used to facilitate a group discussion and capture participant responses during the discussion.

I’ve also used a whiteboard to map out the major components of a project. I took a picture of it and shared it with the person I was collaborating with so they could provide their input and see my thoughts in action.

After I digitally stored it, I erased the board to capture my next big idea.

3. Flip chart paper

I like using flip chart paper sometimes too, mainly because I can roll those jokers up and take them with me. I like the sticky kind so that I don’t have to fool with taping them to the wall. 

The example below is how I used flip chart paper to chunk out the content of health and wellness project I worked on recently.

4. Large post it notes

I’ll be the first to admit that I have an affinity for office products, and when 3M started selling large post-it notes, it thrilled me immensely! I’ve used them to display my favorite quotes, chunk content for an e-learning course, and document my blog writing strategy.

5. PowerPoint

I use PowerPoint a lot because of my work as an instructional designer, but I also use it to collect electronic assets and content that inspire me such as images of designs and styles, links to websites, and text for different types of projects.

Here’s a snapshot of my 94-slide, GoneGirlGo PPT Swipe File that keeps growing.

If you haven’t given much thought to how you go about capturing your big ideas, you should.

There’s magic in giving them space to grow, be always visible, and shared with others.

Plus, your head can stop spinning, you can sleep at night, and those headaches will go away along with all that guilt because you allowed your big ideas to evaporate into thin air never to be seen or heard of again. And who doesn’t like being surrounded by the magic of their ideas? I know I do.

Remember, in another post; I’ll share different methods of capturing small ideas because they require more detail, precision, and depth. 

Do you have any challenges capturing your big ideas? See something here you’d like to try? Need help figuring out ways to visualize or chunk your big ideas? Or do you have other methods that you’d like to share? Share them in the comments below or on Facebook. If you’d like some help capturing and visualizing your ideas, email me at zoe@gonegirlgo.com.