Creatives are collectors of good ideas. It doesn’t matter if the idea is ours or not.
We have an idea box in our heads where we store every thought that has the potential to become a brilliant idea.
We bookmark interesting dialogues and unusual opinions on boring topics that no one wants to hear about.
We are masters at creating our unfinished thoughts into a beautiful work.
So, we are always looking for ideas.
Why I wrote ten headlines daily
I wrote 10 headline ideas daily for 365 days. I started this practice in November 2021 and I am still doing it today.
My mentor
Ayodeji Awosika
taught this practice in his writing course.
He has been doing it for more than seven years and his results compelled me to make it a daily ritual.
Here’s what happened after one year of writing 10 ideas daily.
The benefits of this exercise
I learned the most important component of success
The best thing that came out of this practice was consistency. I had so many ideas that I was forced to write more consistently.
Ideas that compelled me to tell my stories. This habit helped me nail a boring yet essential routine.
I no longer have to wait to get in the “mood” for writing. I just open a new draft and fire away.
Enjoy the productivity in the flow state
This exercise is the first step of the said boring routine, and out of the 10 headlines, 8 are pure crap that would never see the light of day.
The two remaining tolerable headlines will get me in the flow for a great writing session. This exercise also helps me get rid of crappy ideas without too much fuss.
This is the best exercise to get into the flow state easily.
Eat the frog every morning
This is the first task of the day. It was difficult in the beginning, but now I can write 10 headlines in under 10 minutes.
Eat the frog first thing in the morning so you don’t have to worry about it later.
I do this exercise daily. If not, then I’ll have to write 20 headlines the next day. I aim to do it daily as soon as I open my laptop.
Steroids for your creative muscles
A big idea will not come knocking on your door out of nowhere. You need to work your creative muscles so that you can come up with your big idea.
For that, you need to get rid of crappy ideas daily. There’s no easy way. The more you work on your creativity the stronger it gets.
So, if you want to get your best idea soon then get all your crappy ideas out starting now.
Say yes to heightened productivity
This exercise helped me increase my output exponentially. I have written more in the last year than ever before.
It led to a better writing process that helped me publish articles in under four hours.
I am a top writer on 10 topics and I have written several viral articles.
Become a better researcher
We need a topic to write about. Most days you’ll copy other writers. But once in a while, you’ll come up with an original idea.
To make that idea work you need to do research. You need to find what’s hot and then dig for a controversial stance on that topic.
To write something different, you’ll need to research and read a lot about it so that you don’t sound like a complete idiot.
How 10 ideas a day changed my life
Better quality output
I have written 4 articles per week on average since I started this exercise. Before that, I would barely publish 2 articles a week.
No matter how hard I tried I was never able to meet my monthly goal. I was a disappointment as a writer.
But this exercise has helped me create a routine that helped me pump out so many articles. I didn’t think I could ever be this consistent.
More ideas=More risk-taking
Right now, I have more than 3000 headlines that I can write about. There is no shortage of ideas.
The real task is to follow through and make that idea a final product. The more ideas I write the more convinced I was that they were worth working on.
I made my passion my full-time job
I have successfully maintained the top 1% writer’s quota for the past 11 months.
I left my job eight months ago and this is now my full-time job. I am grateful that I actually made my passion my vocation.
Why you need to do it
It doesn’t matter if you are a writer or not, consider doing this exercise daily.
It will help you come up with many ideas for a side hustle and it’ll help you write your deepest desires down on paper.
It will give you confidence and you won’t hesitate to call yourself a creative ever again.
It will show you how easy it is to get new ideas. It will encourage and motivate you to follow through and get the work done.
This is the best practice if you want to gain more confidence.
Conclusion
I like to think I fit the trope of the lazy writer perfectly, but sadly there is no such mould. Writers are hard workers no matter how lazy we claim we are.
Pumping out content consistently is a challenge that is guaranteed to keep you up late at night. Your mind will work overtime to come up with ideas that you can write about.
You need to be on top of your ideas so that you don’t miss your viral idea, and you’ll torture yourself endlessly if you miss an amazing opportunity.
You won’t rest until you catch that idea. It’s an itch that you can’t scratch.
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