A waiter’s notepad is crucial for all the servers out there who don’t have the most-perfect memorization skills. From all of us customers who like our order just right, we appreciate the use of this cool little tool to communicate our culinary desires to the kitchen staff clearly and concisely. A great big thank you to servers and notepad makers everywhere today!
And yet, there is an even more amazing use of the waiter’s notepad (especially since iPads and tech gadgets are becoming the norm for restaurant service, pushing these innocent, sweet notebooks off to the side).
As an avid reader of James Altucher, I have heard him reference “sharing ideas is the currency of the 21st century”. Pretty unique and gutsy perspective. And yet sharing ideas is one way we are advancing even more rapidly in start-up technology companies, innovative medical research and through social media. From the massive oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of submissions were put forward with ideas on how to clean up the mess in ecologically friendly and financially smart ways. Issues like this, which were once compartmentalized when creating solutions are now open to sharing ideas, providing collaborative opportunities to create a more effective solution for the global greater good.
Idea generation doesn’t have to be large-scale. It just needs to happen.
Like a muscle, our mind needs to be used to keep it in shape. Our creativity can get stagnant if we’re automatically going through motions day after day. Or we can choose to engage the brain and start training it to think more creatively again. So, back to the importance of a waiter’s notepad! James Altucher suggests the use of this little item to exercise our brain daily. How, you wonder?
Write down 10 ideas.
What ideas? Any ideas! How do I know which ideas to come up with? Who cares – what comes into your mind? Maybe its 10 ways to pack a suitcase, 10 titles of a book about ideas, 10 ways to eat pizza. This is not your to-do list, it is not written as a paragraph or a journal entry. This is just a bullet point list of 10 ideas – a brain exercise primarily.
If one of the ideas really jumps out, then start a new list of 10 specifics around that idea. Otherwise, just enjoy the writing exercise and keep flexing your muscle. Chances are you’ll be able to come up with 3-4 ideas relatively quickly. Then it might get tough. Can’t think of 10 ideas? Okay, think of 20 ideas. Suddenly, 10 ideas just got a lot easier!
Make it a habit!
Phew – I got through 10 ideas. Once the alternative option of 20 ideas was presented, 10 ideas just flew onto the page. Now, the concept is to do this again tomorrow, too. This may be tough to start. Just like going to the gym the first few times may not sound as tempting as sitting on the couch eating bon bons. Making it a habit – everyday – it will gradually get easier and you may find yourself one day creating multiple 10 idea lists! Maybe one of them is 10 ways to get in the habit of sharing ideas…
Why a waiter’s notepad?
Why not? Oh, you really want a more thorough response…well, the idea is that a waiter’s notepad is small. Start writing 10 ideas and if you’re anything like me, you’ll start getting frustrated very quickly. I like to say a lot – describe things in detail, explain things away, make sub topics to the main idea. Nope – not an option on the waiter’s pad! It’s small so that’s the amount of space you have for writing, it’s got lines so you can number them or just write more easily, it’s easy to take on the go (no excuse not to write!) and it can be a great conversation topic since its quirky and different!
So, get yourself a waiter’s notepad! For less than $5, you can purchase 10 notepads for a total of 1,000 pages. That’s lots of pages for awesome ideas to flow and some major currency to create!
~ Health, Happiness and Prosperity ~