12 Awesome Reasons to Use an Idea Journal

1. Using an idea journal is fast & convenient

My journal is a storehouse, a treasury for everything in my daily life: the stories I hear, the people I meet, the quotations I like, and even the subtle signs and symbols I encounter that speak to me indirectly – Dorothy Seyler

“Every day is an opportunity to be creative – the canvas is your mind, the brushes and colours are your thoughts and feelings, the panorama is your story, the complete picture is a work of art called, ‘my life’. Be careful what you put on the canvas of your mind today – it matters.” — Innerspace

Did you know it takes only a fraction of a second to lose a life-changing thought, insight, or idea? If you don’t capture your thoughts immediately you will most likely lose them? However, if you have an idea journal, you can quickly record as many ideas, goals, and dreams as you want to. Don’t miss the opportunity to record the happenings in your life – these happenings make up your story, your history. In short, they represent who you are…your essence.

 2. Using an idea journal motivates action

“Bold action in the face of uncertainty is not only terrifying, but necessary in the pursuit of great work.” – Jonathan Fields

An idea journal motivates you to take action on your most valuable and promising ideas. When you record your ideas in your journal, there is something about seeing your insights and ideas in writing that urges you to do something about them. You don’t get this urge when you settle for just “thinking” about your idea, in your head, instead of writing it down. Additionally, the ideas you record may serve as the launch pad to your desired future; however, in order for that to happen, you must have a process to record your ingenious ideas to capitalize on their future potential.

3. Using an idea journal helps you maintain a laser-focus

“F@*# self-doubt. I despise it. I hold it in contempt, along with the hell-spawned ooze-pit of Resistance from which it crawled. I will NEVER back off. I will NEVER give the work anything less than 100%. If I go down in flames, so be it. I’ll be back.” – Steven Pressfield

An idea journal helps you maintain a laser-focus on your goals and dreams. The key for you is to be diligent, stay disciplined, and practice persistence to see your ideas take shape. A journal helps to keep your ideas in front of you on a daily basis. The more you focus on your dreams, the quicker they will manifest into reality. A key insight to watch for related to ideas are those ideas that keep coming back to you. For some reason, these ideas seem to hang around; they always seem to be in your thoughts or close at hand no matter what you do, they just keep coming back. You need to pay special attention to these ideas. As you review your journal, you will start to see trends, patterns, and natural leanings and inclinations appear. Don’t fight it – this is your soul speaking to you, telling you that this is your idea – this is why you were born. This is what you came to share and contribute – this is your legacy. One of the best ways to get an insight like this is to capture your ideas in one location, so you can go back, study, and reflect.

4. Using an idea journal helps you express your creativity

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanely sensitive. To them… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create — so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, their very breath is cut off… They must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency they are not really alive unless they are creating.” – Pearl Buck

An idea journal helps you express your creativity. Use your journal as an instrument to help you be who you’ve always dreamed of being. Think of your idea journal as a tool that will help you unleash your urge to create. The words and pictures in your journal are uniquely yours; do not be afraid to express yourself openly and freely. Your journal is the one place where you can allow your soul to freely articulate what it desires and what it aspires to be, have, or do in the future. Let your journal capture the stream of your life, where your pen is the compass and your paper is the map. Journaling allows you to express your feelings…good, bad, and ugly. Remember, you are not required to share your idea journal with anyone, so make it uniquely about YOU.

5. Using an idea journal helps you capture your ideas

“You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.” – Mark Victor Hansen
An idea journal helps you capture your brilliant ideas in one location. Having a central location to store your ideas is efficient as well as good common sense. When you want to locate an idea from one day ago or one month ago, you can find it. Journaling holds your thoughts still so that they can be examined and wrestled with, if you don’t capture your thoughts, how can you reflect on them later? Brilliant ideas will come into your awareness as flashes of insight and leave just as quickly; make sure you capture them as soon as they strike. Keep a notepad or index card in reach so you can reflect on your ideas at a later time.

6. Using an idea journal helps you compare and combine ideas     

“The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things-ancient history, nineteenth century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later, or six months, or six years. But he has faith that it will happen.” — Carl Ally

An idea journal helps you compare new ideas with old ideas and pinpoint those ideas that can be combined to create something new and better. Ideas represent potential possibilities and anticipated results or benefits to the creator. A creative person thrives on the prospect of the exponential possibilities based upon the combination old and new ideas. Creative people live in the realm of possibility so the thought of “what if” in combination with the potential of a new idea is exciting. Do your best to tap into this feeling because that’s where your power resides. Find a way to use your old ideas to help in developing new ideas by combining elements of past ideas with your current ideas.

7. Using an idea journal helps you develop a plan

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” – Alan Lakein

An idea journal can be used to develop a plan that will move you toward your goals at a faster rate. You can use your idea journal to conduct brainstorming, develop mind maps, and create word associations. Your idea journal can be used to develop outlines for books, write drafts of screen plays, poems, songs, or movies. You name it…you can use your idea journal to help you create worlds that have not even been imagined before. There are no limits to how your creative mindset and craftiness can make use an idea journal – the only limits are those that you impose upon yourself.

8. Using an idea journal helps you stimulate new ideas

‘The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” – Linus Pauling

An idea journal helps you record your ideas in order to help you stimulate new ideas. One way to immediately increase your creative abilities is to review your past creative endeavors and ideas. Another way is to learn something new every time you engage in a creative project or undertaking. Journaling is for those who must pour out their creativity. The more ideas you have, the more ideas you will get. Build upon what you already have – look at your ideas from a different perspective; grow your ideas, shrink your ideas or add different elements to your ideas, and look at interesting combinations of your ideas.

9. Using an idea journal helps you gain greater self-awareness

“We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our thoughts and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance. … We should write because writing brings clarity and passion to the act of living. Writing is sensual, experiential and grounding. We should write because writing is good for the soul.”– Julia Cameron

An idea journal helps you gain greater self-awareness into your passions, interests, and desires. The more you write and review your goals, dreams and ideas, the more you will understand what it is you desire out of life. Journaling allows you to pause, go inward, and listen to yourself. Are you listening to what your heart, mind, and soul are telling you?

10. Using an idea journal helps you launch future projects

“As soon as I get an idea, I write a short story, or I start a novel, or I do a poem. So I have no need for a notebook. I do keep files of ideas and stories that didn’t quite work a year ago, five years ago, ten years ago. I come back to them later and I look through the titles. It’s like a father bird coming with a worm. You look down at all these hungry little beaks — all these stories waiting to be finished — and you say to them, Which of you needs to be fed? Which of you needs to be finished today? And the story that yells the loudest, the idea that stands up and opens its mouth, is the one that gets fed. And I pull it out of the file and finish it within a few hours.” – Ray Bradbury

An idea journal serves as a valuable resource for future endeavors. Refer back to your idea journal when you need ideas for new projects. Which of your ideas need to be fed? Which of your ideas are calling on you to pour life into them? Which of your ideas are pulling on your energy the most? Pursue that.

11. Using an idea journal helps you protect your ideas

“Piracy begins where creativity ends.” ― Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala

An idea journal will serve as your recorded time of invention, if notarized. If ever there is a dispute related to when an idea originated, a notarized page in your journal may be the difference between you receiving credit for being first to conceive an idea or receiving no recognition at all.

12. Using an idea journal encourages growth and development

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook

An idea journal is a valuable tool to help you grow and develop in your desired direction. Your journal is not just a place to record ideas, it is a tool that will help you learn every time you use it. Journaling will help you grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually every day.

 Vernon Myers is the author of the book, The Idea Journal: A Tool for Unleashing Your Urge to Create! ****Launches Today*****  Click here for more information.