The Idea Hour

I recently read Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Anne  Klauser. It's a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it. In fact, I picked it up because Wendy Lawton mentioned it in a blog post for Books & Such Literary Agency. One of the bits of advice that resonated with me? Once a week, head somewhere you can get inspired and spend an hour writing down ideas.


I loved this advice for a number of reasons.

1. As a work-at-home mother, an excuse to head to a coffee shop once a week and do nothing but think got me unusually excited.
2. I often push "idea sessions" back for months to get my "real work" done.
3. I'm a writer. This advice included a. writing b. ideas and c. solitude.

Since I already meet local authors for coffee twice a month, I decided to try the Idea Hour on alternate weeks. Hey, twice a month is better than nothing, and the overachiever in me struggles with giving up even fifteen minutes.

Idea Time:

Yesterday morning, I woke up tired, with a long to-do list, and a few worries hanging over my head. The clouds drizzled rain against a dreary gray sky, and all I wanted to do was drop the kids off at school and head home. But I'd already decided Thursdays were my day, so I drove to Panera with my notebook.

A coffee and a window seat helped my mood, and I took a few moments to soak in the cheery maize walls, strategic lighting, and happy conversations. Feeling a bit better, I journaled for several minutes about the above-mentioned worries. That act improved my attitude immensely, and soon I wrote a few pages of ideas about my writing career, possible blog posts, and what I could realistically accomplish by the end of 2011.

I still had five minutes, so I sipped my coffee and relaxed. By the time I arrived home, I couldn't believe how productive and calm I felt.

I'm already anticipating my next Idea Hour. We have so many different areas to brainstorm. My next session will focus on any areas I could improve my current work-in-progress.

You don't have to limit your sessions to one area in your life. Here are suggestions for other Idea Hours.

* Business
* Housekeeping
* Raising children
* The holidays
* Romance
* House projects
* Vacation
* Book: Work in progress
* Book: New book ideas
* Social media strategies
* Exercise/health

If a theme bothers you, feel free to just come up with solutions for whatever is pressing on your mind.

Since I chose one area--my business as a writer--I thought about what works and what doesn't. The things that aren't working are the ones I brainstormed different methods to try. I didn't limit my ideas to negatives, I also reflected on areas I've improved. It's good to congratulate ourselves from time to time.

Have you ever tried setting aside time each week (or in my case every other week) to write down ideas? Does it seem indulgent to you? Would you be willing to try it?

Have a fabulous weekend!

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