Why Do The Big Ideas Happen Out of the Office?
Do you ever wonder why our light bulb moments happen while we are soaping up in the shower, biking along a forest preserve trail or mid-way through listening to a keynote speaker? And why does the topic of “the big idea” entice us so viscerally? Isn’t it because we all crave the big idea and, more so, that we believe our big idea will propel our career forward and/or make us lots of money?
According to Harvard researcher Shelly Carson, the chances of having big, creative ideas are a lot higher when we feel good, and our brain is relaxed because these activities give us an increased flow of dopamine. However, dopamine alone isn’t enough. Another crucial factor is a distraction. When you let your mind wander, it can surface and plant those ideas into your conscious mind.
If we all are enamored with the idea of generating our next big idea, or even several great mini ideas, then how can we place ourselves in situations to produce them more consistently as well as maximize the big idea’s use; in other words, it’s execution?
Here are five ways to optimize your brain’s natural potential to churn out a big idea and one method to harvest and execute the idea when it comes.
1. Restore and Recharge
Early in life, my entrepreneurial father taught me that taking regular vacations to recharge my batteries were not only fun and felt good but also supercharged my brain when I returned to work. If that wasn’t enough proof, Stephen Covey was continually whispering in my ear “Sharpen the Saw” with his story about the goose that laid the golden egg, until the goose couldn’t because of over-production. Burnout is real. Whenever you can, take time to recharge every day, every weekend, and every quarter.
2. Mental Stimulation
I have found intellectual stimulation stimulates big ideas more than almost anything else. Whether I’m chatting with a peer, reading a business book, paging through a magazine, or attending a lecture, my brain is in overdrive. Midway through a presentation, I’ve not only jotted down big and small ideas related to the speaker’s topic, but I’ve also scribbled down a handful of great, unrelated ideas, just because the mental stimulation creates heightened synapse firings in my brain.
3. Physical Stimulation
Most familiar to us is the concept that physical movement stimulates the areas in our brain where creativity happens. Regular exercise not only keeps our bodies fit but also our minds. Actually during the process of physical movement like pumping free weights, taking a brisk walk, returning a tennis lob, whatever your exercise, the big idea moments often pop up spontaneously. When our brain is focusing on something else like the next repetition or the oncoming ball, it can multi-task, and some valuable idea bubbles up in your brain. One way or another, jot a note, text yourself a few words, or repeat the idea a couple of times to yourself, so the great idea isn’t lost when the exercise is over.
4. Change of Location
A change of venue from your everyday work confines is another way to help stimulate big ideas. There is something about the routine of your office environment (same chair, desk, To Do List, the stack of papers, etc.) that is more helpful for focused execution of tasks than the more freewheeling brain process of brainstorming new ideas. Consider working in a coffee shop, grabbing a quiet corner in a library, or even curling up on the office couch with a pen and paper to change your work surroundings just enough to generate big ideas.
5. Process Stimulation
While big ideas can pop up in all four of the ways listed above, they rarely fully flesh themselves out on the spot. Therefore, one of the best ways to harvest your big idea once you get back to your office is to think about the idea, read about the idea, and/or talk through your idea with a respected colleague. Capture your thoughts in writing just enough to document them and map out a few underlying thoughts. Then, do something else, move to a different assignment or the next meeting, or go home for the day. Let the idea percolate. Let the direction you take, and possible implementation steps present themselves before diving full steam ahead into execution.
Most of all, remember those big ideas are exciting and can be the “shiny new toy” but don’t let them take you away from fulfilling your daily job requirements or your critical strategic goals for the year. Big ideas can be game-changers, but it’s the execution that turns them into cash. Break down each big idea into workable steps and systematically work through your list before jumping to the next big idea.
