This is an interesting blog post:
⭐️ How to generate better ideas – Jakob Greenfeld – Experiments in Permissionless Entrepreneurship
The mistake I made was that I tried to come up with ideas while staring at a blank piece of paper, waiting for inspiration to strike. This is why I started collecting useful prompts. These prompts not only make it so much easier to come up with ideas, but also help to direct brainstorming sessions in productive directions.
What is something that everyone hates using? What could be done to solve these problems? (Don’t let your imagination be limited to what you consider technologically possible. Just write down whatever you can come up with.)
The author describes several “prompts”. My suggestion is to follow the linked blog post and read up on the “ideas”. Everyone is looking for the sweet spot of the productivity hump. However, while a method that has worked for someone may not be applicable to your use case scenario. I call this the “productivity” trap. It’s a rabbit hole, and no one knows how deep it will grow.
For example, Obsidian is promised as the “second brain” and taking notes “effectively” with a cross-platform software. However, a user is restricted from saving and syncing content through cloud storage devices, and you have to purchase the options listed on their website. It shouldn’t deter anyone from trying out, but as breathless YouTubers launch their courses and invite “experts” claiming to have broken the “productivity barrier”, it is difficult to believe them. Therefore, as any other exercise, you need to rely on it if you can sustain it.
Internet is a vast resource. There are many claimants about the productivity applications, especially on Mac and iPad, though technologically, both are sub-par with restrictive app-store “guidelines”. Most applications have moved towards subscription models. For example, Ulyssees app for writing invests significantly in drumming up blog posts. Earlier on, when I started blogging, I had a MacAir and had the software installed to get the “creative writing juices flowing”. It didn’t help. I invested time in Vivaldi browser instead to create a complete browser based workflow to read and write. You usually don’t need additional overheads to be “more productive” or “generate ideas”. Software is just a tool, and when everything fails, read the questions and use pen and paper.
My suggestion is to get on blogging. Writing will happen gradually (and “naturally”).
RadOncNotes 