How to come up with ideas

Impress colleagues, bosses and everyone else

Author

Ajay Prakash
January 29, 2025

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Hey guys,

Let me tell you a secret: I almost didn’t write this newsletter. Or more accurately, I couldn’t—every time I tried, the page stared back blankly. I was desperate for new angles and insights, but my brain felt like it was stuck on repeat. Finally, I realised something: my information diet was stale. I kept reading the same blogs, watching the same shows, talking to the same people, and then wondering why my ideas were going nowhere.

So, I made one small tweak:

I decided to explore topics completely unrelated to what I usually consume. I switched out my typical marketing podcasts for documentaries on astrophysics, scrolled through niche Reddit communities I’d never visited, and started striking up random conversations with folks in different fields.

Suddenly, something clicked. It was like my brain’s gears got greased, and I found myself jotting down a flood of new newsletter ideas. The quality of my ideas also shot up—because I was connecting dots from new, unexpected places.

Here’s how you can do the same:

Change Your Input

Sign up for a newsletter on a topic you know nothing about, read an article from a field you’re curious about, or watch a documentary outside your comfort zone. Strange inputs spark fresh outputs.

For example, I recently read these books which seem completely random but gave me broader insights:

  • What I talk about When I talk about Running - Haruki Murakami (a Japanese author that began running)

  • Servo by David Goodwin - a biography of his time working at a petrol station from midnight to 6am for 6 years

  • Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman - a book that tries it’s best to piece together the writings about norse mythology


Don’t get me wrong - I also really enjoy their writing and reading it but it’s something fresh & different.

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Brainstorm Without Judgment

Write down every idea, even if it feels ridiculous. Trust me, half of my best ideas started as “This might be dumb, but…” thoughts.

As an exercise, just try to come up with 3 ideas a day. Just force it out of yourself - after a while, the tap won’t stop and you’ll struggle to keep it to only 3 ideas a day.

Get Your Idea Outside of Your Brain

Share your rough ideas with a friend or a community that’s supportive yet honest. Constructive feedback can refine a messy spark into a brilliant concept.

I end up DMing 2-3 friends who might have something interesting to say about it. Sometimes you won’t hear from me for months and randomly i’ll message: “Hey X, I had this idea and it made me think of you. What do you think of this?”

Most people appreciate being thought of and reconnecting over a cool idea

Let Your Mind Wander

How often do you actually do nothing? My best ideas come to be when I’m doing nothing.

Limit your inputs for a bit - don’t have a background TV show or music. Just sit and let the brain go where it wants to go.

Here’s my challenge to you!

For the next 30 days come up with 3 ideas a day. Can be for business or whatever frame you want to put on it. Business is the easiest lens but maybe you want more ideas for stories or artistic things.

Feel free to email me the 90 ideas after the 30 day challenge. (Also don’t use AI to generate the ideas, try to use AI to guide you, ask thoughtful questions and teach you cool things)

Until next time,

Ajay

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