Ideas Are Back
You can’t force ideas. But you can create obsession. And obsession can’t help but generate damn good ideas
I haven’t written much by hand over the last two years.
Digital tools, each serving a very specific purpose, have been my go-to on most days. For example, I use Obsidian to write, Figma for design, and Apple Notes as a central database. Each tool does exactly what it’s supposed to with perfection. But with all my attempts at organizing and simplifying, something intrinsically rigid took over. Excitement drained. What felt creative just a few years ago became mechanical and systemized in ways that were never necessary.
That was the pattern for the last two years.
But this week since coming back from vacation, I’ve opened up my pocket notebook that I’d used occasionally at best. I’ve been actively working with it, filling pages, drawing mind maps, and letting one idea branch into the next without expectations or structure.
Ideas have come back differently. Sharper. More connected. Less forced.
The Catalyst
When you immerse yourself into something you’re curious about, everything you come across from that point forward is filtered through that same lens. Books stop being just stories or lessons and start giving you the answers to questions you’ve been asking. Conversations lead to connections you wouldn’t have made a month ago. Your brain creates ideas on its own with ease because it’s obsessed enough to think of ways to make stuff happen.
A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a reaction. If you think of idea generation as a reaction, then obsession is its catalyst. When you’re obsessed, great work, excitement, and joy are inevitable. Your brain can’t stop making connections.
Back in med school, mind maps were part of my workflow. But rather than using them to purely ‘memorize’, I found them much more useful to ‘generate’. That meant thinking through different topics, linking source material, and understanding the core of what I was working on.
That approach carried over into my creative work, but the mechanism is still the same.
Depth creates connections. Connections create ideas.
The Mechanism
When you’re really obsessed with something, you may have noticed that when you act, there’s no force involved. You don’t have to sit down and get to work any longer. The action is enjoyable. Solutions are simple. Things click instantly.
You can’t force ideas. But you can create obsession. And obsession can’t help but generate damn good ideas.
The way to implement this is to set up some conditions. What’s the one thing that’s been at the top of your mind lately? What’s something you learned or worked on and enjoyed? That’s your signal. Jump into it headfirst. Immerse yourself in its world. Read, watch, and observe everything. Give yourself permission to wander without expectations and see where things go.
What your obsession is matters less than how obsessed you are. It could be anything - coding, chess, cybersecurity, painting. What matters most is being obsessed and having a way to document what you experience and learn — that’s where a pocket notebook and pen enter the picture.
The Conditions
I always set my top three priorities the night before. That way I know what needs to get done, and then I know I can let my mind wander without guilt once I’m done. The right conditions mean there shouldn’t be an ounce of pressure. It helps if you’re comfortable sitting with just a notebook, your thoughts, and no distractions. Focus on creating space where obsession can take over.
When an idea shows up, the most important part is to write it down immediately. The way that’s worked best for me is to get an idea down in a notebook first so I have clear, distraction-free space to build on it. Then I’ll grab the simplest, most condensed version of that idea into Apple Notes so I can add to it as things come to mind.
When an idea starts to feel real and it becomes something you can’t stop thinking about, make it happen. Make it real. Break it down into the most granular steps, add those to your reminders app, and dedicate chunks of time to work on it across the week.
When an idea feels real, I ask myself: Who is this for? Does it align with my vision? What’s the expected outcome? What’s the minimum viable version? What’s the opportunity cost? Not every idea deserves this treatment. In fact, only a few should. It’s up to you to decide what you choose to work on and what you’d like to make exist.
Try not to reject ideas that seem too ordinary or don’t lead to any obvious outcome. Keep building on your list of ideas. Let yourself get carried away. Talk about them with your friends, family, and don’t worry about the response.
There’s been a palpable shift in the way I approach my work and create ideas over the past week. Sometimes, you just have to build and create things without the expectation of return. Sometimes you just have to lower the stakes. But there’s one thing I now know for certain.
If you want to find gold in the darkness, you first have to be obsessed enough to dig.
Talk soon,
Pranav
I love what you have shared here,this stack is worth a read read♥️my takeaway to myself is this"since coming back from vacation, I’ve opened up my pocket notebook that I’d used occasionally at best. I’ve been actively working with it, filling pages, drawing mind maps, and letting one idea branch into the next without expectations or structure." I can relate to such a feeling after a break from routine 🔥this is a wonderful way of carrying the gift of vacation as a bliss moment to daily routine✨thank you💖