Creative Thinking Hub

Creative thinking expert Jim Connolly, shares tips & resources to help you think more creatively.

Avoid creative block with this simple idea!

Updated April 2014

The next time you feel yourself struggling to come up with an idea, try mixing it up a little.

For example:

  • If you usually work from home or an office, go and work from a local coffee shop for an hour (or two).
  • If you usually create your art using paint, try using charcoal.
  • If you usually write your ideas down using a computer, try thinking on paper and add colour.
  • If you usually work inside, take your work outside.
  • … You get the point.

By changing the way you work, you cause yourself to think differently. This may be exactly what you need, the next time you are stuck for an idea.

Capturing ideas and thinking on paper

Updated July 2025

creative thinking, taking notes

A common attribute of very creative thinkers, is that they never let an idea slip away from them. They deliberately capture their ideas and today, I’m recommending that you do the same. I am also going to give you a tip about how to work with the ideas you capture, using a simple pen and paper.

I will explain why the pen and paper are important in a moment. First, let’s look at why you should start capturing your ideas.

There are actually 2 good reasons:

  1. The first reason is obvious. By deliberately collecting the ideas you have, you are not going to lose or forget them. Sometimes, our memory can be a poor servant.
  2. By capturing your ideas, you will quickly develop what I call creative thinking confidence.

Creative thinking confidence?

Yes. As you start to see the volume and quality of ideas you create, you become aware of just how creative you really are. As a result, your confidence grows and you become encouraged to think in increasingly creative ways.

If you have never deliberately captured your ideas before, you will be amazed. In many cases, people who previously thought they lacked ideas, ended up with more ideas than they could use, even after they cherry-picked only the very best ones.

So, what’s the best way to easily capture your ideas, without it eating into too much of your time?

When it comes to creative thinking, your phone is your friend

Your phone is a powerful creativity asset. It gives you the ability to video, photograph, record audio and take notes. That said, many people fail to utilize this creativity powerhouse fully. And as a result, great ideas and inspirations they encounter are soon forgotten. If you see something, hear something or think of something that inspires you, capture it. Record it whilst it’s fresh in your mind. Then, when you get time, take the information off the phone and put it onto something you can work with.

I recommend any audio recordings are either saved as audio files or jotted down on paper. I always use a pen and pad to write up audio notes and get my ideas fleshed out. I call it thinking on paper.

Thinking on paper

Although I am surrounded with technology, like many people, I find I always think better on paper. It seems that the process of writing by hand helps me think, by making me concentrate deeper on what I am writing. With a keyboard, I write pretty fast. By hand, I write far slower. There’s also something about the tactile nature of a pen or pencil, which has always assisted my thought process.

If you usually get your ideas down using a computer, give paper and pen/pencil a go. I have seen amazing results with my clients, when they started thinking on paper.

You may be just 1 idea away from a breakthrough you need. Make it a habit to capture your ideas and set time aside every day to think about them and work with them.

Some of your ideas will be of little value to you.

Others will be of greater value.

And some will be gold dust!