Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of ideas you have? And some of them are so different. There are inventions that keep popping up in your mind. Or is it characters from future books who say hello at least once a month? Are you bombarded with all the blog post/video/social posts/[insert your favourite type of content here] ideas?
I get it. Overwhelm simply signals that we do not know where to start or what to do next. As Scanners, a lot of us are very familiar with it. I tried all kinds of planning techniques and productivity hacks in the past. None of them worked long-term. Why? They were shared by wonderful well-meaning people who are not Scanners.
So I found a different approach: Live in the future and create in the now. When my brain serves up wonderful ideas, I give them space and time. Turns out once I allowed them, my mind calmed down. Not only felt I free to create whatever I wanted, my creations now take a fraction of the time they used to.
Basic brain stuff
But first, let’s go over some basics about the brain. We do not actually notice everything our brains do. While I type this article, for example, I know that my brain is also working on newsletters and two posts I intend to write by the end of the week. Those thoughts are not conscious so they don’t get in the way of my current writing. But by the time I’m ready to focus on the next piece, the structure is there and the words flow easily.
When you have an issue or a problem you want to solve and then take yourself on a walk that “clears your head” this is exactly what happens. While you enjoy nature, your brain does the creative thinking in the background. And when the solution is ready, it’s delivered to your conscious mind.
Another important point is that what you resist persists. If you try not to think about anything, you’ll definitely keep thinking about it. Don’t think about elephants. What are you thinking about? Exactly. So when you have an idea but you don’t want to work on it right now, that’s fine. Just don’t push against it because if you try to ignore it deliberately, it’s suddenly everywhere and derails your focus.
How to quiet your mind
So step one is to quiet your mind. Yes, you can meditate if it feels good to you. But that’s not what I mean here. All you have to do is acknowledge your ideas. Yes, all of them. In Refuse to Choose Barbara Sher suggests you get a pretty notebook. This is your ideas book. Every time an idea comes to you, write it down. Sketch a prototype. Describe it. Draw the character/company logo etc. Then I’m going to add a second part to this: daydream about it.
When I first realised that I was a Scanner, I used an ideas book. I still have it. These days I no longer need it but I do daydream about every single idea I have. Maybe I compose a dialogue scene or think about a post outline. Maybe I have an insight about a course. Whatever it is, I spend as much time with it, daydreaming and sometimes taking notes, as feels good. When I’m done for now with my future idea it will just peter out.
If you were raised to value action above all else, I’d still ask you to give this a try even if it sounds like a waste of time at first. Once you allow yourself to stay with an idea, the entire process only takes a few minutes, half an hour tops. And afterwards you get to focus on what you want to create right now in peace.
The future
The ideas you write down and daydream about are your future. Some will be big, like a company you want to found one day. Others will be small, like a potential piece of content. The important ideas come back in more detail or a different version. Sometimes, they even spark other thoughts that help you with what you are creating right now.
By allowing yourself to daydream about anything that comes to mind, you literally never run out of ideas! The more diverse they are the better because let’s face it, we are Scanners and we love variety. Before you know it, you’ll seamlessly shift gears from a blog post, to a drawing, to a course because they all pop up ready to go in your mind.
Create in the now
And as soon as an idea is ready, get to work on it. How do you know which one to pick? Use your emotions as a guidance, because that’s what they are for. Pick the idea that sounds the most exciting, fun and easiest next. That’s usually the idea your brain has worked on the most.
What if you’re in the middle of creation and you begin feeling frustrated? That’s a sign that something is wrong so stop and check in with yourself. You might just need a break but if not there could be something off with the work you are doing at the moment or the way you do it. If that’s the case, rejoice in being a Scanner, and shift to a different project until you feel the urge to come back.
I bet you’ve had some of your ideas for decades. I know I have. So trust that you will return to this particular piece of work when you are ready. You might need to learn something else first, or practise a skill more or figure out a detail. Don’t worry about it. Your brain is already on it. Your job is to relax into the next fun and easy task.
Trust
Give yourself permission to be you. Allow the daydreams, spend time with ideas that might lead nowhere, and stop in the middle of a task until you are ready to get back to it. This is the way we were born to live and work so trust that it is not just the easiest and most fun way to be but also the most productive. Or better still, try it and see the results for yourself!
We are not like most people. Yes, for them switching between tasks is stressful. Going back to an old project may be tedious. And abandoning an idea completely will trigger their loss aversion bias. But we are not other people. We create with our genius limitless minds. By honouring every single one of our ideas and giving them space and time, we can create endlessly without once getting bored.
Our brains don’t “handle” this process, they were created for it. Trust in your amazing brain because it has always and will always deliver. Trust in your emotions to tell you exactly what to do next. And trust in yourself. We were born to live in the future and create in the now.