Developing ideas for your Project - the fun bit

I have had my head stuck in research lately, so I just wanted to add a Blog about a topic that I mentioned in a comment.

That is that one of the most creative times in a project for me is at the beginning. This is the fun part, shopping around and letting ideas flow, thinking about how to generate or capture data, and learning methods that make it possible for you to be sure about what you find out. Fantastic!

I sometimes go on big planning sheets to draw out possibilities - and yes thinking of different problems and innovations that I could do. Or if you want to have these planning sheets for later, go the A4 route so you can keep this planning in a portfolio (a place where you put stuff). I like to keep my early ideas, they are like sketches and they help me remember. I also have my all inclusive orange notebooks and also keep digital copies of ideas. If you don't own a memory stick, it is time to buy one so you can be portable.

I have been doing project work for the last 10 years, and enjoy this stage because I like thinking. In this stage, you are not alone, everyone is thinking. Discussing ideas is important, it helps you figure out what you really want to do. Even Activities 1,2, and 7 actually look kind of fun because they are just ways to deliberate about a your project and your working life.

So go somewhere you have designated as a study place and create. Keep a portable study place (like a notebook and memory stick) so you can take it with you and get work done where ever you need to be. Tell your friends and roommates that you are in a study mode - or zone - and think. Ideas will come if the muses are around - but you may need to invite them.