Work Tool: Brainstorming 101

The air hangs heavy with ideas...

A brainstorm is on the horizon.  Soon, the whole area will be inundated with thoughts of all shapes and sizes.  But how to harness such a thing? 

Let's walk though the some of the basics of brainstorming, based on my experience.

1. Reserve Space and Time

Brainstorming is more of a non-linear process than most other work (answering emails, statistical analyses, writing up results, etc.).  Therefore, I've found that I need special space and time to make it happen.  

For space, I try to go to a separate environment beyond that of my office desk.  This might take the form of an empty classroom, an open table, or a walk outside (when it isn't -30 degrees outside).  If I must brainstorm at my desk, I try to clear away distractions such as open browser tabs or cluttered paper notes.  If there is ambient noise, I listen to classical music with headphones.  

For time, I set a timer, be it 5 minutes or 50.  Then, I will focus only on brainstorming until the timer goes off, email or coding pressures notwithstanding.  

In short, having a specific space and time frees me from distractions.

2. Medium and Moderation

Brainstorming is about getting ideas out, not coming up with the perfectly crafted one right off the bat.  Therefore, I choose my medium and moderation carefully.  

While any medium can be used for brainstorming (physical or electronic), I prefer a pen and notepad.  Ideas are more organic that way.  I can also draw or scribble freely without having to pause the process of idea generation to format text/images in a word processor.  

When it comes to moderation, I know that not every idea will be helpful in final analysis.  Still, I have to press myself with the realization that there are no bad initial ideas.  Too much moderation will stifle creativity.  So, on first pass, I turn my moderation switch way down.   This helps me throw it all out on the page and sort through it later.  Later on, while assessing the ideas, I can turn on my inner critic to dismiss the bad ones.  

In summary, having an expressive medium with minimal moderation keeps the brainstorming flow going.

3. Structures for help

There are many methods for brainstorming, written elsewhere in length by people more knowledgeable than me.  In my own work, I find three helpful structures that fit most of my needs.  They are lists, mindmaps, and outlines/scaffolds.

Lists

• most basic of the structures
• simple jotting down of ideas
• great for prioritizing tasks, as I've shown in a previous post

Mindmaps

• most visual of the structures
• ideas grouped taxonomically
• best for ideas that don't initially have temporal structure

Outlines/scaffolds

• outline: high-level ordering of a written project
• example: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion
• scaffold: (my term) is like an outline, but for slide/video projects
• example: slide deck with general titles and placeholder content

Great, that was an informal session of how to brainstorm, Williamson style.  In the sequel, we'll dig more into the concept of brainstorming and provide some sample data.