James reminds me of a great point often forgotten in his post Warm, Partly Cloudy, 100% Chance of Brain Rain. Sure, I set aside time every day to plan my days activities, but I haven’t been setting aside time to brainstorm.

• set aside 10 minutes, each and every day
• have pen and paper handy
• allow yourself the freedom to think crazy thoughts
• don’t worry if nothing really productive springs to mind right away
• periodically scan over your notes from these sessions as things may pop into your mind after they have “marinated� for a while
• if no ideas pop into your head pick a fun topic and doodle a bit
• use word association to get things rolling if you feel stuck e.g. thinking -> thoughts -> mind -> brainstorm -> brain rain

With the ability to voice record on phones, mp3 players today you won’t even need to bother with that pen and paper part at all!