We all know the pain: staring at a blank page, waiting for inspiration to strike.

The end goal of "Ideas" feels woolly, a barely tangible thing in the far future you need to reach. On top of that, you have pressure from higher-ups, setting deadlines and goals, none of which help with that first hurdle: getting started.

This ultimate guide—full of techniques, processes, tips, and tricks—will consider and explain what it takes to capture, create, explore, refine, and implement those seemingly illusive ideas.

Getting Off the Starting Blocks

1. Don't waste your initial thoughts

This may sound silly, but it's important to capture your initial thoughts about an idea when you first become aware of having to come up with it. Your first reaction, inclinations, and associations with a topic are only fresh once, so be poised to record them.

Often, I find if I'm busy when I first hear that an idea is needed, I get overenthusiastic and start coming up with thoughts immediately but because of my busy state I don't record them properly. Then, later, when I do have time, the creativity has stalled or the thoughts feel stale.

You can delay ideation until an optimal time when you can get more from each thought: They can be made fully formed rather than remain fragments.

2. Take the pressure off

You're not going to hit the jackpot the first time around. You also have to avoid getting too hung up on your first idea. The reason mind maps are so favored is that you can aim for quantity, not quality—just get them out with no judgment and have a look at what you've got afterward. At least, then, you'll have something written down.

For me, I find that the background worry of not being able to come up with a "genius idea that's guaranteed to go viral" (we all think it; I'm not rolling my eyes, you are) inhibits my ability to think freely. So let yourself off the hook: You know you're going to get there. Ideas will come, so you can relax, safe in that knowledge.

Make a start, and things will flow.

3. Inspire yourself

Ideas tend to be borne of experiences. What we're familiar with—what we read, observe, and consume—all influence our ideas. That's why you feel more at home with briefs that sing to your interests rather than those that don't.

In the latter case, where ideas feel particularly lacking, my advice would be to inspire yourself. Go off and research what you need to, and submerge yourself in that world.

It's damned hard to think of a fresh idea with little point of reference, so look for resources that will open up your mind.

Filtering for Diamonds

How do you take a bunch of half-thought ideas and turn them into one that stands strong on its own? If you have a mind map in front of you, highlight what seem your best ideas and number them in order. Pick, say, the best 10.

From there, spend some time fleshing out the thoughts to see which have legs. If you can't expand an idea more than an extra line or two, it's probably not going to go very far. That's not to say they have to be complicated; the simplest ideas are often the best.

If you can, find your human soundboard—the person who's best at listening to your ideas, helping you expand the best ones and telling you straight when you're talking nonsense. Now, this person typically isn't going to be your Mum. (Though Mums may be great at most things, they may not be familiar with specific aspects of business, so you'll often find yourself having to over-explain.)

Look to someone who understands the basics and who doesn't think like you. If you're creative, test your ideas on someone who's more practical. Having a go-to person (sometimes colleague, sometimes friend, ideally a mix of the two) really helps you to stretch your ideas.

And because you're comfortable around them, you won't be scared to voice even those wackier thoughts (which can easily end up being the best).

How to Decide What's a 'Good' Idea

A favorite rule of mine is topic + format ≠ idea.

An example might be deciding to make an infographic on online advertising. That in itself isn't an idea; there's no meat to it. National Awareness Days tend to fall into this category, too, when adopted by brands that are completely unrelated to those occasions.

Taken from Chip and Dan Heath's Made to Stick, the following are some criteria you should apply to each idea to ensure it's a "good" idea.

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The Ultimate Guide to Coming Up With Useful Ideas

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Amber Dawson

Amber Dawson is the creative content strategist at Adzooma and divides her time between writing and coming up with ideas for its blog.

Twitter: @ambermaydawson

LinkedIn: Amber Dawson