How to Take More Action (10 Ideas a Day)

Recently, I decided to try this new habit of writing 10 ideas a day. Sometimes, it appears to be more of a to-do list. Sometimes, it’s just random thoughts that occurred to me. The main advantage for me is that I can essentially braindump and see what I can get out of it.

At first, I was simply writing 10 ideas down. But then, I started experimenting with taking action with these ideas too. My current strategy is to act on one of those ideas every day. It could be an idea I came up with that day, or an idea I’ve had in the past. When I take action on one of those items, I mark the date.

I’m a bit of a dabbler/experimenter. I never know where something will lead. (For example, who knew that learning Korean and music production could lead to earning the first 4 figures of a passive income stream?) So naturally, if I’m curious about an idea and it doesn’t take much time/effort/resources to test out, then I’ll go for it.

I also find it useful for tracking which ideas are coming up more often. Usually, I make a pretty broad list of ideas, from health/fitness to finances to relationships. But sometimes, I focus a bit on one area (e.g. solutions to keep spaces organized, books/courses to complete, song ideas, etc.).

Right now, I am tracking these lists on a note-keeping app on my desktop. There are many free ones available. I sort the lists by days under a folder. I like using a note-keeping app as opposed to simple text files since I could easily sort through them and keep them separated.

Earlier today, I felt like I wasn’t doing anything meaningful. I felt a bit tired (been waking up early these past few weeks). I was gaming for some time after breakfast, and then I decided to check my lists of ideas. I ended up trying 1-2 ideas.

Usually, the ideas I take action on are easy/simple to do. They may contribute to a longer-term goal. Or, they may just be tests/experiments. Or, I’ll have some big creative project idea. Then later, I might break down stop projects into small steps that I could achieve.

There’s so many possibilities with these 10 ideas lists. I love the flexibility of it. Some ideas aren’t going to work out so well. Some ideas might be amazing. But, I’ll never know unless I try, right?

Writing this blog post itself is an action I am taking based on one of the ideas I’ve listed. I didn’t really have a topic in mind, and this probably isn’t the best blog post I’ve ever written honestly. But, I’m still taking action. The best way to learn or to improve is by doing.

I also think that compared to a to-do list or a goals list, it’s easy to take action if you only have to commit to one a day. I guess decision fatigue is a possibility (haven’t ran into that problem yet). But typically, there are items on the lists that call out to me more than others. Or, I’ll go with the first idea that I’m interested in testing out.

I think if you’re used to procrastinating or not doing much in general, then this method may be worth attempting. It’s easy. Just write at least 10 ideas right now, and choose one to act on. If you do this consistently for one year, you’ll have taken action 365 times, and at least a few of those actions may have created interesting ripples.