How to Think Up New Inventions
Each product that is purchased each day was once an idea. Coming up with one or two good ideas over a lifetime can pay for the education and living expenses of future generations. It can take several months or years to develop a new invention into a marketable tangible product. Here are some tips on how to think up new inventions.
- Find ways to improve existing products.
- Solve common problems for specific industries or household tasks.
- Use message boards and online chat websites for finding areas where people are having problems. Search different search engines to find different message boards. Lurk through the messages, and consider joining a few of the forums to interact with the participants.
- Listen intently when people complain or sound enraged about a product. Write down their grievances and complaints.
- Apply for patent applications when promising ideas are found.
- Record all new invention ideas. Use a portable pocket sized recorder or a notebook.
- Review all ideas on a regular basis. Schedule time that is dedicated to sorting out potential invention ideas.
- During the dedicated review time, limit all distractions. Turn off telephone ringers, do not check email, or do any online website surfing.
- Create an inbox for promising inventions. These are specific inventions that are being improved upon. Use a paper file to easily write ideas and improvements.
- Make a back up file that is password secured. Consider online back up services.
- Keep moving forward with ideas and improvements. Try to do at leas tone thing to progress the project on a regular schedule. Make a notation to include the date and time of the update to visibly see that process is being made.
- Do not share personal ideas on inventions with untrusted sources. This could be casual friends, neighbors, co-workers, or business associates.
- Research online and in larger libraries. University systems may allow research by local people who live in the area.