On Monday we talked about where to find creative ideas and how to stimulate creative ideas. I mentioned some resources and included some personal techniques that you could use when you mind goes blank. Today I will address the question: What do you do when you run out of ideas? In Part 3 on Friday, I will discuss a creativity coach’s perspective on creative ideas.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF IDEAS?:
–ADMIT THE SITUATION: Admit the situation to yourself and to others where necessary, that you don’t have any ideas.
It’s important to make this statement. Make it short and quick, so you don’t dwell on the negative for long. When you do take this action, you are preparing yourself to listen to new ideas. Remember you are not required to know when, where or how the ideas will come, that’s your brain’s responsibility. I’m only asking you to admit that you have run out of ideas. This signals your brain, that you are ready to hear some new ideas.
–ASK FOR HELP: Uh,oh, for some people this is hard to do. (I’m raising my hand here.) I don’t like to admit that my idea generator has stopped temporarily. I don’t like asking for help. I prefer to see myself as a person who can take care of everything in her life, including coming up with new creative ideas. After all, I’m an idea person. I’ve helped my clients grow in their The process doesn’t work like that, at least not all of the time. Sometimes, everyone’s brain needs a little help. We grow, live and work in communities. That implies that in community we also ask for and give appropriate help for everything. So, it stands to reason that when I ask for help finding creative ideas, I shoudl ask for help from a creative helper. I’ve seen myself discover new ideas during a brainstorming session, as well as after.
–CHOOSE HELP WISELY: Remember that not everyone will be interested in listening to your requests. Sometimes this is due to lack of experience, busy schedules, lack of interest or other reasons. For example, when I know that I need a long time to work through an idea, I find someone who is familiar with my ‘rambling’ style and schedule an appointment. I wouldn’t ask one friend who lets me know that she will listen to me for only two minutes per topic. I would talk with her only if I needed a few mintues to problem-solve.t I would probably find a creative person that I’ve talked to before, who knows that sometimes I have trouble becoming clear until I’ve talked out my ideas. When I ‘feel finished’ or close to it, then my brain is ready to receive new ideas. Remember not to your waste helper’s time. Finally, I don’t want to open myself to the possibility of misunderstanding or criticism, because this friend doesn’t have the time to hear the whole story. I am very protective of my ideas, until they become a product, service or performance.
–SET A TIME AND PLACE: If you know you need some extra time and space, then make an appointment with your helper. The idea is to take care of yourself and your ideas. The more time you can give yourself initially, the more time you will save in the production phase. Work toward gaining as much clarity on your ideas as you can.
–GOOD DIALOGUE Develop a good dialogue with your helper. Structure your conversation so that you give yourself adequate monologue time, as well as dialogue time. If you are a talker, like I am, keep watch on your monologue time, or you might bore your helper, and never give yourself time to listen to other ideas and suggestions. If you are a listener, then make sure you include more monologue time. Some days it’s very easy for me to talk my ideas out and some days I struggle with it. This is part of my own process and of the general process of creativity. Don’t worry about the brainstorming results. Now that you’ve signaled your brain that you are open to ideas, that they will begin to come.
–GRATITUDE: Whenever you can, make sure to thank your helper for giving you time, resources and anything else that you received during your dialogue. Gratitude oils relationships. Practicing gratitude goes a long way towards preventing your helper from feeling taken for granted or giving in to tension or other issues,in later conversations.
–RECIPROCITY: Please remember to offer future brainstorming help to your helper. Don’t force the issue, but do leave the door open. Some people may accept your offer and others may not. Some people prefer to listen, rather than talk. Other people may have other resources from which to draw their ideas. Some people still don’t like to ask for help, so they will continue on at their own pace.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN’T FIND AN ADEQUATE HELPER:
–GO BACK TO YOUR IDEA NOTEBOOK: I gave you specific directions for creating an idea book on Monday. In that case, I referred to writing one idea per page, to stimulate later writing exercises. Now would be a good time for your to create that book, if you haven’t already done it. Remember you don’t need a perfect notebook. Just create a notebook that will nudge you to write your ideas down and work on them.
–WRITE A LIST: Maybe writing lists sound boring or too much like writing your grocery list. I can understand that .However, I’ve discovered that I like writing lists when I problem-solve. The technique is simple, short and revealing. Kathleen Adams (from the Center of Journal Therapy) in her book, Journal To The Self, suggests writing a list of 100. Before you tune me out on this, please remember that you can repeat items. Don’t stress over what to write, just write it down. Be complete all 100 items, not 38 or 17. Disciplining yourself to keep writing ideas down until you finish the list, will help positively influence your results. When you finish the your list, reread it.
READ YOUR LIST AGAIN: What do you see? Do you see any obvious patterns? Such as, repeated words, phrases or feelings? Do you see one or more themes? My experience has been that once I reach the last fourth of the list, something new shows up in my results. It might be a new topic, a thought, or phrase. Since I’m often very impatient to find an answer, I will try to find it before I finish the list. Don’t do that. Please don’t edit your list or read it before you finish it. It’s important to complete the whole process before you look at your results. I’ve seen themes. The answers that you discover, will depend entirely on the situation you are working through.
MAKE A RECORD: Remember to write the new information somewhere where it’s safe. Ideas come and go so fast, that you may not be able to remember exactly what you learned. In fact, you could plan to work in your idea book, after you make a list. Then you will be able to capture new ideas immediately. In any case, it’s better if you write the ideas somewhere, so that you don’t dwell on the idea that got away.
MAKE IT FUN: Finally, make the process fun. I usually take myself and my ideas too seriously, until I can find some clarity around them. Taking yourself to seriously can burden your helper. I inject humor into the conversation to keep myself on an even keel and entertain my helper. Brainstorming doesn’t have to be a chore. It can be great fun. Now, I will leave it up to you, to figure out how to make brainstorming with your helper fun. Remember every helper-creative conversation is unique. Put your personal stamp on it.

(Continue to Part 3 on Friday)

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