Setting idea traps

Gareth K Thomas -

Where do ideas come from?

The things we read, the films we watch, the places we go, the people we meet… anything and everything that we consume.

We can let the world wash over us, and be bombarded with mainstream news and popular culture, or we can be conscious of what enters our brains.

The ideas I have come from the traps I set. Here they are:

  • Newsletters: There are people out there putting a crazy amount of effort into creating brilliant newsletters. They’ll deliver the best of the stuff they’ve found each week to your inbox, for free. Some of my favourites include Zude’s Top 4, Stratechery & The Monday Medley.
  • Twitter: Social media can be a massive time suck. Or, if you’re smart, it can be a force for good. Think carefully about who you follow. There’s lots of great content and original thought being shared… if you know where to look. Some of favourite accounts on Twitter at the moment include Matthew Kobach, Kurt Elster & DHH.
  • Podcasts: I really enjoy conversational podcasts. If they’re too scripted I find it hard to take in the information (I’ve never got the hang of audiobooks). With podcasts I can listen while doing other jobs around the house (thank you Sonos!). Some of my favourites include The Darius Foroux Show, The Knowledge Project & Feel Better Live More.

I’ve set these idea traps so that great stuff can come my way.

I catch way more than I can eat.

Each day… great tweets show up (often linking to great articles), great newsletters arrive (always linking to great articles), and new podcast episodes arrive in my Spotify feed.

If I read/listened/watched them all I wouldn’t eat, sleep, or see my family.

My traps catch way more than I can eat, and that’s a good.

Any articles I may want to read, or videos I might want to watch, get saved to Pocket. When it’s time to read/watch/listen I can choose the best of what I’ve caught in my traps.

(A handy additional feature is search… if I need articles on a particular topic, I search Pocket and often find articles I saved but have yet to read, or have read and archived).