Step 1 is done. Your idea is born and buzzes through your mind. Time for the next part:

Step 2: Putting your thoughts on paper

Now you have to go through the next challenge. It is time to put your thoughts on paper. Take a quiet moment and try to bundle everything you have in mind. It always helps to divide Step 2 into a few smaller steps. You will notice, that within every step you make, your idea gets better and more sophisticated.

Notes and Tags

Start with a plain sheet of paper and write down all the tags you can come up with. Write EVERYTHING that comes to mind on paper. You can also make small notes like “mechanical parts in aluminum or stainless steel?” Make sure not to forget any open points. Write down: “must, should, want, don´t and also very important – must not. Do not concentrate on any special order or categories.

When I do my tags and notes, I usually wear headphones and listen to music. It increases my concentration and motivates me to focus on my work. For me, it is not important, what kind of music I listen to. It can be all kinds of music and might change from one day to another.

Most people I know love to listen to classical music or piano music – a matter of taste!

Also interesting: Some people make their notes and tags on the computer, others like to handwrite them. Find out, what works for you.

If creativity is needed, there is only one option for me that works: handwritten.

Why? Because you cannot easily copy and paste like you can on a computer. You have to write it again and again – an important point, if you want to improve your idea during Step 2.

Put everything in order

Take your notes and tags and think about categories. It depends on your idea, how many categories you want to use. Here is an example for categories in a technical market:

You can choose the categories however you want and how they fit with your idea. Use your categories as a big headline on your next sheet of paper. Make sure you allocate every single note and tag to a category.

During this process, some additional notes and tags will come to your mind. Write them on your first sheet and categorize them also directly. Now you start to define your ideas further and get more detailed.

Maybe you´ll recognize, that you have to open a new category. No problem – add one more!

Try to make your sheets of paper as colorful and as clearly arranged as possible.

Add some more sheets of paper, if you need more space. You can glue them together and create a big poster.

Option: Put Notes, Tags and Categories in a continuous text

I see this last point of step 2 as an option. It depends on the idea, if you need it or not. But it can’t hurt to put all your notes into a floating text.

That helps you and other parties to get a better understanding of your idea. You also could find some new advantages or even disadvantages during the writing of this text. If you run into multiple disadvantages and problems – start over. Go through all your steps and modify them until it makes sense again.

You can eliminate a bunch of upcoming problems in the first place, if you spend some extra time on Step 2.

Depending on the scope of my project or my idea, I repeat “step 2” up to 3 times.

After you have finalized step 2, you are well prepared to move forward. This is where it gets serious. It’s time to ask your colleagues for feedback. Share your idea and start to create an official project proposal.

Follow me on my journey and find out what the next steps are in the blog post: