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Ask HN: How to get ideas?

30 points by oldmanstan ↗ HN
Just wondering how you go about cultivating ideas.

Do you, for instance, have a routine where you sit down and think about new ideas every so often? Or do you just wait for one to hit you?

How do you get your ideas? (Also, please note if you think you're effective in how you do so. Have you had - and implemented - great ideas?)

27 comments

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joelg87
In my personal experience, I haven't deliberately forced ideas, however that could potentially work.

One thing may be to become aware of when you have ideas - I've found I have my best ideas when I'm not sat at my laptop.

The ideas for my two startups came when I built something for myself and found that others wanted it too. These were little problems (at first).

I think a final important thing that comes to mind is that if you have even a twinkle of an idea, then grab onto it with both hands, and work with it. My latest app was a tiny idea and I developed it in just over a month and a half into something of value and I've now just had my first customer. Work with the ideas and eventually you'll find yourself swamped with things to build upon that single idea.

Hope that helps.

jaxn
Ideally I look for problems instead of solutions.
known
Look around for who is selling what.
Ataraxy
It is all about solving problems that people have. One great resource for this in my opinion is to go to ehow.com and check out the thousands of articles there in just about any topic. Each of them is an answer to someones question or problem and could get your thoughts flowing.

It's also a really good place to start for people that are interested in creating information products.

TomorrowMars
Meditate. Be passionate. Think for yourself. Read fundamental books. By fundamental I mean "important", not "full of religious bigotry". I got a lot of ideas from Frank Herbert's "Dune", for example. Do things. I mean dont just use your lizard brain to constantly look for new input, dont follow what other people are doing. Start your own pet project. No matter how small. Find the smallest problem you can solve. Ideally a global one. But a local one works too. Anything to get you working. Then the creative juices will flow.
tstyle
A lot of my project ideas come on plane rides to or back from a nice long vacation. Since there's no internet, I'd just sketch stuff out on a piece of paper. If there's a cute hostess I'd use her to bounce ideas off of.
geekytenny
I get ideas by naturally wanting things easy and believing others want things easy too. So once i hit a difficulty, i start looking for ways to make things easier for myself and others.
bemmu
Start working on something tiny. Often while working on it you'll discover that you're really already thinking forward, having ideas and fantasizing about your next project.
wilhelm
Learn about how other people spend their work or leisure time. Spend a day in their shoes. You'll see plenty of problems software could solve.
bearwithclaws
Be sensitive to what you really want/need. If you pay enough attention, most of the time, there won't be a products/services that 100% satisfy your own want/need.

Write your idea down, start your sentence with "What if..."

Then try to forget about it. Great ideas tends to come back and haunt you every day and night.

When they do, you know what to do (or find out how!).

atomical
Why is there so much emphasis on finding something new when there are a lot of successful businesses out there that you could copy and compete with?
nickfromseattle
It may have something to do with over valuing ideas, but I don't think HN has that problem.
crocowhile
Just make sure a little piece of your brain always think about it: that little piece will then convert real life problems into problems to be solved or solutions.

Walking 2h daily used to be my main creative time. Now that I live in a big city is a bit more complicated to do.

Get a good note-taking app on your phone. Whenever you get an idea, write it down there. I use catch.com.

jeremyjarvis
I once attended a "creativity" workshop, and one of the tasks was coming up with a solution for an everyday annoyance.

IIRC the process was something along the lines of...

1) Decide on a task or something that you do regularly (e.g grocery shopping) 2) Detail all the steps involved in completing the task (e.g walking round the store, finding items, comparing prices, putting items in cart, queueing up at checkout etc etc) 3) Rate each one in terms of annoyance/difficulty level 4) Start to brainstorm how the high annoyance steps could be easier.

I can't remember the exact steps - there was a bit more to it than that, but as a team of 4 we had some pretty cool ideas after an hour.

jaysonelliot
The number one key to cultivating ideas is minimizing distractions.

Did you ever notice that some of your best ideas show up when you're in the shower? It's because your mind has nothing to distract it.

When you're going from one place to another, turn off your MP3 player or car stereo (if you're walking / driving). Put your phone on airplane mode so you're not interrupted by texts and calls.

When you're at home, do one thing at a time. If you're doing the dishes, just do the dishes. If you're talking with other people, just talk, don't put on the TV in the background, turn off the radio.

Cultivate as much stimulus as possible overall - but do it one at a time. You should watch the movies you like, read that books you find exciting, explore just to explore. But you also have to take time to focus and just be.

The other important thing is to always have something to write on. Get yourself a tiny notebook that can fit in a jeans pocket, and even a golf pencil if it means you'll always carry it around. No idea is too small to jot down - they all add up.

wccrawford
I would have said exactly the opposite. The way to get random new ideas is to pay attention to the world around you. Get our of your comfort zone.

However, if you're looking for useful idea, the solution is to have a problem. And then fix it in a way that other people can benefit from. And then charge them for it. They'll thank you.

jaysonelliot
Actually, I think you're saying the same thing. Most people's "comfort zone" is staring at a smartphone, listening to music, watching TV, and playing video games.

It's difficult to turn everything off and just go out in the world without anything to entertain or distract you.

tiffani
I think some of my better ideas have come from just wanting to solve problems--either mine or those of friends, family, or co-workers. Those ideas always seem so much better than anything I just sit down and come up with based off what I think would make a lot of money yet is a stupid idea fundamentally. Plus, ideas that solve some problem seem as if they're easier to stick with (for me, at least).
c1sc0
Exercise. I'm not sure what it is about exercise (increased bloodflow to the brain?) but whenever I catch myself not exercising enough my creativity also tends to be at a low. I can really think a problem through when e.g. I'm skiing or swimming.

Changing environments/motion. I find that I'm really creative when I'm travelling (mostly by train, driving a car is too distracting and flying is too shitty).

Soupy
Personally, I carry a small notebook with me and whenever I find myself having difficulties with anything (whether it be finding a place to eat, the nearest gas station, or remembering what I had to do at work) I try to consciously think of how I could prevent running into the problem in the future. If an idea comes to mind then simply write it down. The result is that you will find your notebook will fill up very quickly and will become a resource for you when you are attempting to start a new project.
__Rahul
The only thing standing between you and ideas is your own conscious mind. So you need to find a way to make it go away. Try doodling. A lot. Let your mind go and ideas will flow. Running, bicycling or skipping ropes - it could be any activity. You'll know which one works with you only when you try.

Ideas are often born via cross-pollination. Do stuff and read books, beyond your narrow field of expertise.

Internet/libraries are full of books about idea, creativity & thinking. You'll have to do several iterations to find a routine that works for you.

dcaldwell
I agree with _Rahul that ideas are born from cross-polination. I read a lot of business books and blogs, but also read other stuff - novels, science, faith-based, humor, etc. Most of my ideas come from combining something that I've read from a business book/blog with something completely unrelated. Also, something else that helps cross-polinations is traveling to developing countries. Oftentimes, there are so many new experiences, points of view, and ways of doing things there that it opens your mind.

To document my ideas, I just type them in Notes on my iPhone.

sraquo
There are two kind of ideas for startups:

1) There is a problem, and current solutions are ugly. Think how to fix it and sell your fixture, and you have an idea. Many programmers when faced with some problem will quickly solve it with some script/whatever magic and not even consider that they could turn that solution into a service/product. How to get such ideas: use more stuff, always look out for problems / poor experience.

2) Those ideas that start with "It'd be cool to do X". Think twitter. I've no idea how to filter out good ideas of this form from bad ones, but with enough iteration I think a lot of even dumb ideas can fly.

I've started game dev recently. http://chopperdefense.com is my first game. I did not know what kind of gameplay or graphics I wanted when I started it. There even were no helicopters in the game initially. But with enough iterations I think I made a pretty decent game. While I was doing it I got a lot more game ideas which I duly noted and also iterated on. "To a game developer, everything looks like a game". Top idea in your mind, as PG says.

hasenj
Offtopic, but I can't find chopper defense in the app store, how come? (or is it only for the iPad?)
sraquo
Only iPad for now. Maybe I'll make it universal by the end of December, not sure yet...
mindcrime
Do you, for instance, have a routine where you sit down and think about new ideas every so often? Or do you just wait for one to hit you?

Sorta both. I don't exactly have a routine that's dedicated to "new idea generation" but I have routines around reading and studying... and I find that a lot of my ideas occur when I'm reading (whether reading a book, or a website, or a magazine, whatever). So, I tend to read in bed before going to sleep, and - a lot of times - after I put my book down and turn the light out, some idea will come to mind. So I keep a notebook by my bed just for jotting this stuff down.

The other scenario is when I go up to Barnes & Noble, order myself a nice caffeinated beverage and sit back and read / listen to music / think of ideas. I also keep a notebook with me on those occasions.