How to Get Ideas in a Short Time Frame

How to Get Ideas in a Short Time Frame and Tackle Your To-be-Read Pile of Books In the Process

The world is facing a crisis right now. I thought that as a contribution, I’d host a  Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge. I’m experienced in creating challenges and have hosted and participated in several. I made a promise to myself that if no one came for the ride I’d do it by myself. The intent is for you to learn how to get ideas in a short time frame.

A few people have decided to join me. The goal is for professionals to tackle their to-be-read pile of nonfiction books to quickly grab the ideas that will allow them to reinvent themselves. The outcome is that participants have a pool of great ideas they can apply in their businesses or careers. They would have also developed the foundation for a set of career skills. If you're trying to figure out how to get ideas in a short time frame, the read 30 books in 30 days reading challenge is a great option for you!

In fact, according to Udemy, having a growth mindset is the top skill needed during the pandemic. You probably have books on your bookshelf that can teach you the skills. Here are the top 10 career skills the learning platform found. And if you're trying to figure out how to get ideas in a short time frame based on the skills below, why not join my read 30 books in 30 days reading challenge and focus on books that teach you the skills below.

1. Growth mindset
2. Creativity
3. Focus mastery
4. Innovation
5. Communication skills
6. Storytelling
7. Culture awareness
8. Critical thinking
9. Leadership
10. Emotional intelligence

I’ve been chronicling my journey using the Diaro app. And I’ve been posting my notes on social media in the form of book summaries. This is about my fifth time participating in a reading challenge to read 30 books in 30 days. However, this time around, I have people who have joined me on the journey. And I’m also more intentional in choosing the books to read. At the end of the 30 days, I’d like to have an infusion of ideas to apply to my business. And it wouldn’t hurt if I came up with product ideas.

Has the reading challenge been easy? Absolutely not. I love murder mysteries, thrillers, and detective stories, so I’ve been sneaking them in. I do this because it provides a measure of escape for me right now. Life’s not easy for many people right now. I’m an active reader, so I get very emotional because I get into the story. I’m like one of the characters. Eerily enough, this gives me comfort during tough times — even when the characters are pissing me off. Participating in the reading challenge is also letting me get to know another version of me. I’m paying close attention to how I’m responding to the books I’m reading.

This is so weird because I’m automatically incorporating some of the ideas into my life without much thought. And that tells me that things needed to change. Even though I stated the intent of the reading challenge is to tackle your pile of to-be-read nonfiction books, reading mysteries and thrillers and detective stories are great for honing your problem solving skills. 

In Blood Lure by Michael Lister, based on the evidence in the story, I deduced who the culprit is. Yet for some reason I didn’t trust myself and didn’t decide definitively. But in the end I should have stuck to what I saw and noticed. How many times have you not trusted yourself, only to find that you were correct?

As far as nonfiction books are concerned, I’ve digested 14 nonfiction books and today is day 16. Am I concerned? No, and here’s why. First, the challenge is about reading 30 books in 30 days, so I have time. Second, if I deconstruct what I’ve read so far, I’m not really behind. One of the books I’m reading, you have to read the entire book over a period of time because of the content. On top of that, you can digest only a few pages each day. 

I read another book, which took about five minutes, so I feel guilty adding it in. The author’s intent is to get you to buy his book, so he is giving you a taste and I hadn’t realized that. The sample was really good, but I have no intention of getting the full book because I have other books that cover the topics very well. Even though anyone could read the ‘book’ in five minutes, I learned a better way to create a meeting agenda. 

I read another book, but I decided not to include it because the author had some unflattering things to say about one cultural group. And as a black woman, I refuse to support something like that. I’ll just say though that he’s not against blacks, but still. He was also asking readers to help him spread his message, really!

That would take me up to 17 books. Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge is very much about reading nonfiction books. However, I’ve been reading some books simply for pleasure. Before I disclose the  nonfiction books that I’ve read so far, let me list some of the fiction books I’ve been enjoying to my heart’s content.

Books Read for Pleasure During Reading 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge

1. Blood Lure by Michael Lister
2. The Stand Off by Scott Blade
3. Black Daylight by Scott Blade
4. The Dark Trail, DC Fields
5. Vengeance by Remington Kane
6. Protector by Remington Kane
7. Assignment in Amsterdam by Carrie Bedford
8. Death at Brighton Pavilion by Ashley Gardner

Nonfiction Books Read during Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge

So, I’ve already mentioned that I’m participating in this reading challenge I designed to get an infusion of ideas to pivot my business. I think most people realize that the world has forever changed because of the pandemic. There’ll be no business as usual. Many business models will no longer work. Instead of me feeling sorry for myself about the state of the world, I decided to take things into my hands.

Here are the nonfiction books that I’ve read so far. All books are not created equally. And as can be expected, some are much better than others. I’ve just started to read books across disciplines. You’ll notice that Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does by Philip Ball is on the list. Nature is a great teacher, always has been. How can you use patterns in your life? I’d like you to mull that over.

I’ve said time and time again that the most successful people read books across multiple disciplines to get different perspectives. And that’s what I’m trying to do. I believe by doing so and combining the ideas from different disciplines magic will happen at the intersection. This reading challenge will help me to test that belief.

1. Confident Career Woman by Ericka Spradley
2. Why Not You? 7  Simple Ways to Reinvent Yourself Personally and Professionally by Nicole Normand
3. 1000 True Fans: Use Kevin Kelly’s Simple Idea to Earn A Living Doing What You Love by Jongo Longhurst
4. How to Be a No-Limit Person By Wayne W. Dyer
5. Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk
6. Go Suck a Lemon: Strategies for Improving Your Emotional Intelligence by Michael Cornwall
7. The Way of the Athlete: The Role of Sports in Building Character for Academic, Business, and Personal Success by Rob Pate
8. Buyer Legends: The Executive Storyteller’s Guide by Jeffrey Eisenberg
9. Act Now: How I Turn Ideas into Million-Dollar Products by Kevin Harrington
10. Good Time to be a Girl: Don't Lean In, Change the System by Helen Morissey
11. You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
12. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson 
13. Content Marketing: Proven Strategies to Attract an Engaged Audience Online… by Gavin Turner
14. One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brendan Kane
15. Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does by Philip Ball
16. 60 Minute Scrum: Agendas by Stewart Lancaster (read in five minutes)
17. Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi (Still reading. Have to do so slowly)

Final Thoughts: How to Get Ideas in a Short Time Frame

The read 30 books in 30 days reading challenge is teaching me how little I really know. I’m learning a lot of good stuff to use in my business. Some books have good information that I don’t know what to do with. If you feel like you’d like to participate in the  Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge, you’re welcome to do so. You'll learn how to get a lot of ideas in a short time frame.

Have you read?

Confident Career Woman Book 1: Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge

Why Not You Book 2: Read 30 Books in 30 Days Reading Challenge

Own a Business? You Don’t Need Everyone, You Need 1000 True Fans

You’re Unstoppable: Learn How to Be a No-Limit Person

Start Taking Steps Now to Crush It Post Isolation

Go Suck a Lemon: How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Way of the Athlete: Learn the Art of Focus, Discipline and Achievement from Professional Athletes

Act Now: Do You Act Quickly on Opportunities Or Take Your Time

Next Steps

Wondering what to do next, you can do all of:

1. Buy my new book, Leadership Reading: Spilling the Tea on How Top Leaders Read

2. If you want to Consult 1:1 about Effective Reading Strategies

3. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel

4. Join the Art of Learning Membership Site

5. Download Unlock Your Genius Power Reading Tips Sheet

6. Buy me a cup of coffee!

If you want access to my Bookish Notes, please consider joining my membership site, the Art of Learning.

This post contains affiliate links and The Invisible Mentor® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!