
Ask HN: Where did all the ideas go? - punnerud
I remember before learning programming, I had all these great ideas. Once I learned to program they gradually almost disappeared and new ones did not keep on coming in the way they did. Have you experienced the same? I look back at them on my Evernote and still love a lot of them..
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sudshekhar
I've had this experience over the last few months. The reason, at least in my
case, is that I've started applying a lot more filters on the ideas, and have
stopped considering any of them as 'weekend ideas' (specially if it's a
possible business idea).

Most of my ideas fail on one of these two questions:

1) If the idea is 'revolutionary' (Eg: Go to Mars) --> Why has nobody been
able to implement it till date? Can I do it? Am I willing to spend the months
and years required for it?

2) If it's already an established market/in-use idea (Eg: Uber for X,
Groupon/FB/Amazon clones) --> What will we do differently? If it involves some
kind of services, can I guarantee and deliver them on time and am I willing to
put myself under that stress?

So, for the last couple of months I've been focusing more on just reading and
understanding things, coming up with ideas and rejecting them. Hopefully
someday an idea will come that does pass these filters or something that I
would be willing to stick with for more than a month...

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davismwfl
Well in relation to business ideas, the more you are exposed to different
environments and people the more ideas you'll find. I probably have 3-4 or
more ideas a day pop up, but the reality is most wouldn't make a profitable
enough business. But I jot them all down and keep them.

Oddly, when I first start developing I had tons of ideas, then I got into the
grind of working on some problems and I couldn't seem to think of an idea to
save my life. What I realized later is I had gone from asking tons of
questions and being super inquisitive to trying to look for ideas. Today, I
find ideas because I talk to people all the time, online, in person etc and I
like to ask questions and learn what issues they have. What this has done is I
can come up with all types of ideas and at some point potential solutions.
Then the key is just what might be worth doing.

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swah
I have that spreadsheet as well, but most of those aren't probably life
changing and I'm achieving 90% of that using other, simpler solutions.

(Example: I bought so many components to play with home automation, but 6
months later I haven't played with it again, because my apt is so tiny that it
isn't really needed...)

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Ledyard
Yeah... I've had this happen as well.

When was the last memorable time you just went outside and gazed at nature?

I find ideas tend to come to me when I'm not around my computer and when I'm
just wandering around or looking out at the lake day dreaming.

~~~
tytrin
This ^! Very much so, this!

' I become a transparent eye-ball; ' -Thoreau ftw.

Thank God for beautiful sunsets.

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PeterWhittaker
Are you taking time to just sit and let things bubble up? If not, your mind is
occupied primarily with tasks and todos and immediacies.

John Cleese of Monty Python fame has an excellent video on how to be creative.
I can attest to how well his method works - and it is a practical, doable
method.

[https://vimeo.com/89936101](https://vimeo.com/89936101)

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tytrin
Personally, I have encountered this too. And I feel I might have found a way
out, but first I want to share some of my thoughts.

Several Commentators have struck on some pillars of the issue. Whether it is
lack of time spent thinking or lack of time spent encountering new ideas. I
will suggest two more possibilities: 1\. If you are working now, then perhaps
a large portion of your creativity has been spent on the problems you are
currently facing. Having done this for an entire workday is it any wonder that
when you finally have a free moment, you are tired? That all you hear in your
head is mental static?

2\. Consider along a similar vein, creativity may be like a muscle. Certainly,
I cannot think on hard problems for more than 8 hours straight. Suppose then,
that with the transition into the pattern of work, you muscle has become
tired. Naturally, it will produce little when un-rested. In my opinion, rest
can come from breaking patterns, or from 'stretching' by encountering new
ideas, trying to think of or solve puzzles in new ways.

I hit this wall very quickly after college. And I was frustrated for about a
quarter, before I found ways to break the mold. What I found was Ted Talks,
and news sources like Hacker News. Both these allowed my to be exposed to new
ideas. But moreover, I got caught up in the excitement and the mentality of
the communities therein. Instead of asking, 'could I ever do this?' I found my
self asking, 'How could I not?'. This change in thinking is very powerful, in
my opinion. It frames every one of your actions, and changes the tenor of your
thoughts for the better.

The last thing I found that helped me, was starting a blog. I had been
frustrated by the lack of career movement (shocker I know, and perhaps a bit
naive at the time), and by the lack of fresh ideas and challenges. I found
that by writing about my thoughts and about my projects, I achieved two
things.

First, I found a new challenge, as I am not the best writer. Naturally,
writing a blog on any kind of a consistent basis would necessarily exercise
that part of me. And Second, I opened my thinking to items beyond just
programming. I found issues and ideas flowing from things as simple as an ill-
organized meeting.

I don't know if these ideas will help, but you should know you are not alone.
Further, I encourage you to not give up, but more importantly, to be unafraid
to look in novel places. To summarize a passage written by C.S. Lewis:

"The Man to loves the thought of flying may be discouraged by the loss of the
first blush enjoyment when he joins the air force. But if he sets his teeth
and continues to walk towards the goal of his original passion, he may yet
find other interests along the road. Once he has mastered flying, though it's
passion no longer burns as brightly, he may discover a love of gardening or of
photography. So long as he is willing to surrender that first hot, bright
passion for the quieter longer-burning kind. "

I do not recall the work, but it may have been The Abolition of Man... or
perhaps the Great Divorce. If someone know better, I would welcome the
correction.

In either case, It captures well the core of the issue. Lament not the loss of
your first fruit, and look to the horizon for yet more harvest. Good luck
sir/madam, We all wish you the best.

-Edit-

My goodness I am long winded. I formally apologize, but retain my hope that it
serves well.

Also spelling and grammar fixes.

