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Inspiration can come from the strangest of places
< Take some time out to reflect | Getting over the hump | Repeating yourself isn't always a bad thing >
What do you do when you run out of ideas for your blog or website? Take a break, go and do something else. You might be surprised what you come up with.
Find your time out haven.
Taking short breaks throughout the day is one thing, but sometimes you need to step away for longer. I'm lucky enough to live at the coast and we have about a dozen beaches around our town. I find that an occasional trip to the beach is very calming. The photo above should give you some idea of just how tranquil it is here (and that's me in the distance, by the way).But you don't need the beach. Go to the park, sit in the garden, go for a drive, have a bath, or just put on some headphones and listen to music. Find what works for you - a way to switch off from the buzz of daily life and possibly think of some new ideas.
Be prepared for flashes of inspiration.
Carry a small notebook and pen in case you think of something when you're not at the computer. Then again, this doesn't always work - for instance, I sometimes get ideas when I'm washing my hair, which is amazing considering I don't have much hair to wash! I can't really take a notebook into the shower...Don't try to force out ideas.
Even if you run out of posts for your blog or you're really frustrated and need a change, trying too hard will not make it any easier for you.Once you start, let the ideas flow.
I don't know about you, but I sometimes find that when I write an idea down, I come up with four or five other ideas at the same time. Some of my best ideas come out of these "mass thinking sessions". Just keep writing and see what happens.Organise and review your ideas.
There's nothing worse than thinking up some great ideas, writing them down, and forgetting where you wrote them. Even if you use a notebook, things can quickly get disorganised.Every so often, make sure you transfer things from your notebook to your computer, ideally keeping them in a spreadsheet so you can line up specific ideas to specific dates. This is how I plan ahead with my blog and it works very, very well.
What do you think?
Where do you go to take a break?What do you do when you're out of ideas for your blog or website?
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Comments on Inspiration can come from the strangest of places
I have the solution to at least one of your problems! I've been lusting after one of these for the longest time - I bet you'd love it...
The Shower Whiteboard
Ian - not a bad idea, that could work for me too. However, I'd always want it to be an absolute last resort. I try to limit myself to one off-topic day per week, otherwise my readers are going to start wondering when I'll get back to the blogging and website tips.
Elizabeth - lol! That could be worth looking into! Only thing is, I have a five minute limit for my showers (with timer and everything), and we have low water pressure here. To make matters worse, it usually takes at least the first minute just for the hot water to come through. So it's hard enough to finish a shower on time without actually buying one of those. My wife says I'm not allowed to have one!
Thanks for the comments. :)
I too don't live to far from the beach as I live on the gulf coast. The beach is my favorite place to go to relax.
Ladyhawkcj
Books are some of my favorite sources for inspiration. However, keeping track of those ideas was difficult. I tried to write down ideas as I read them, but couldn't ever find them when I wanted them. The solution I came up with was 3 x 5 cards which are easy to take nearly anywhere. I describe the process I use to organize them here: creativevisionbooks.com/blog/2008/01/18/be-bookwise-and-give-birth-to-new-ideas/.
I love the spread-sheet idea for scheduling blog articles.
Thanks!
I go for a walk, it doesn't really matter where though I prefer the countryside, and I take my camera with me. It leaves me refreshed and I have a post about or inspired by my walk recorded in the camera.
Your remark about being prepared for inspiration rings bells with me BIG time. Usually when I start drafting an article, I'll end up cutting and pasting various paragraphs so I'll finish up with several posts, or the major portion of several. The one I complete that day will more often than not have the final para at the beginning and vice versa.
I draft posts using a WP, so I can spell check, word count, keyword count, etc, then copy and paste into Notepad to eliminate any formatting that's attached itself, and copy and paste from Notepad into Wordpress itself. If there's a short cut to do this, I'd love to hear it;-D
I meant to mention that I can often be seen mumbling into my mobile phone, as well, if an idea occurs to me when I'm out;-D
Carol - nice, I see I'm not the only one then.
Leisa - hope the spreadsheet idea works out for you. I hadn't thought of using cards; writing down ideas and keeping them in order is the important thing. Write on what works for you!
Atms - I usually get my wife to take the photos, but I agree with taking a camera along.
Reward Rebel - I hear there are some desktop blog editors where you can write a post and submit it without having to cut and paste. Firefox 2 has a built-in spellchecker so that would help with that side of things. I just write directly onto my site using the posting editor. Pasting from Word would include loads of unnecessary formatting; pasting from Notepad will not include any formatting; neither option is ideal.
Thanks for all the comments. :)
I try to get some sleep - sometimes my most creative ideas arrive when I'm sleeping so I try to be sure to have pen and pad near the bed for when I wake up.
I haven't gotten organized about it yet though - a tip I do need to start putting into practice
Lady Rose - organisation is the key. At least you are prepared though, that's a good start. Thanks for the comment. :)
ben - well, on my private blog i really don't need much inspiration just go with the flow. now on the other board - DGS - yeah, i need to be more organized.
this fly by the seat of my pants - spontaneous girl might have to be nailed down by a spread sheet.
and a white board in the shower. i draw the line right there buddy. is there no where we can find peace? lol.
Hi again mlpieters. :) I'll be interested to hear how you get on with a spreadsheet.
One thing I do when lacking inspiration is find something funny or quirky and just write a short post about it.