Ideas to help you come up with things to write about

Every entrepreneur should set aside some time to write. Whether they are writing their own personal thoughts about a certain topic or writing thought leadership content about their industry, writing is a skill founders should possess. Having said that, it’s not so easy to come up with topics consistently that are both valuable and interesting. So when you’re stuck and can’t think of a topic, here are five things you can do:

Lay down your pen or keyboard and open up your favorite reading app, preferably not on your phone, but on a bigger screen. Read. Read about the news, read about your industry, read what others are talking about. There is nothing like getting inspired by others to get your mind moving again and translating that into words on paper.

I have to be honest. If this pandemic has transformed me in any way, it has given me a newfound appreciation for nature. When you’re feeling stuck, maybe fire up your camera, take a walk, and photograph some flowers or landscapes. Alternatively, maybe leave your camera and phone at home and explore your surroundings. This is a great way to clear your mind and get it to refocus. Nature is the best cognitive palate cleanser.

You know when you’re about to say something and you forget right as the words are about to come out of your mouth? You know how people say to stop thinking about it and it’ll come back to you? Turns out, this method actually works. It also works for your creativity. Stop forcing it and it will come. It might take a few hours or even days but forcing the issue won’t make that time any shorter.

Music has a way of getting you back your creative mojo. So choose your favorite home speaker and put on your favorite music for a few minutes until you feel you are ready to give it another shot. Don’t rush it and let yourself enjoy the music while not thinking about anything else.

This is my favorite method and I do it quite often. Start writing. Just start. When I do this, the words just start to flow and within minutes, I find that I am back and deep into the material. If you try this and it doesn’t work, refer back to previous points but for me, this has been the most effective method of crystallizing my thoughts and expressing them in words.