23 Ideas

I keep lists. Some examples include:

• Tim’s Big Ideas – My Mile and the rickshaw thing lurked there for a while and it includes other great ideas like “Cycle to the South Pole!” and “Tow a car somewhere!”
• Books/songs/films – There is always so much great new stuff out there that I can rarely keep up with the rate of recommendation/discovery.
• Interesting things – People are always telling you about cool stuff and it’s very easy to let it slip in one ear and out the other without ever following up on it. I now make a point of writing things down (which probably makes me a very annoying person to talk to since I’m always scribbling or tapping into my phone)
• Ideas for blog entries…

I just sat down to update this blog and started, as I often do, by loading up the ingeniously entitled ‘Ideas.txt’ to see if I had any thoughts already down or if I would have to think of something on the spot.

To my surprise and mild alarm, I had a back log of twenty three different topics about which I could write. (I suppose this could count as number twenty four but I think that might start some strange cycle…)

It feels a bit like a squirrel stashing nuts for the winter. When synaptic activity is in abundance, I furiously store away all my brain waves and daft thoughts on paper. Then, when the grey matter hits an impenetrable wall of vacancy, I can greedily dip into the larder of prepared thought.

My point? (Because my simplistic mind requires there to be one)

Start a list.

Write down your thoughts. Make a note of recommendations and keep track of your ideas, ambitions, goals, dreams. Even if they are stupid, impractical or not very good (it rarely stops me). When the moment comes and you are bored, it’s raining or you just need to feed the rat, you won’t regret it.