Stop wasting time on these tired brainstorming practices

Focus on these muse-magnifying strategies instead.

80% of what you’re doing to generate valuable ideas is wasted. That’s right — the popular Pareto Principle doesn’t just apply to productivity, but also to creativity.

Who taught you how to brainstorm?

Most people are never taught brainstorming best practices in school or at work. In the latter case, you learn by doing.

As part of a work team, you learn how to brainstorm by participating in brainstorming meetings. You learn that everyone simply shares their top-of-mind ideas and one person usually records them on a flipchart, whiteboard or on a document that’s displayed on a screen at the front of the room.

At the end of the meeting, there’s usually some sort of informal evaluation of the ideas you’ve generated. You come to a consensus on the “best” idea and the meeting is over.

When you need to brainstorm ideas on your own, there’s even less structure. Chances are, you “brutethink” ideas — you sit in front of a notebook or screen and record any ideas that come to mind. You stop when you come up with what feels like the first “right idea.”