Having too many ideas sounds like a good problem to have.
But when every idea feels exciting, it can become difficult to choose one.
You want to start a project. Then you think of another one. You see something online and suddenly you have another idea. You open ChatGPT, search Pinterest, watch a few videos—and now you have ten more.
Before you know it, you’re no longer building.
You’re just collecting ideas.
Why this matters
Starting something requires more than having a good idea.
You need enough clarity to say:
“This is the one I’m going to work on first.”
And in a time when inspiration is everywhere, this can be surprisingly difficult.
Growing an idea used to mean grabbing a pen and paper, thinking about it, and slowly figuring things out.
Today, one click on your phone can give you hundreds of How-Tos, examples, references, competitors, templates, videos, and opinions about almost anything you want to build.
That’s incredibly useful.
But it can also add to the clutter.
That’s why, even in this age of endless information, I still encourage you to grab a pen and paper.
Yes. Even now.
Don't try to develop every idea at once. Get the ideas out of your head, explore them, talk about them, and then choose the one you have the most reason to start now.
What does it mean to declutter your ideas?
For me, decluttering doesn’t mean throwing ideas away.
It means giving each idea enough space to understand what it actually is.
Some ideas are meant to be started now.
Some need more research.
Some need another person.
Some are simply inspiration for something else.
And some are ideas you’ll come back to months or even years later.
You don’t have to decide the future of every idea.
You just need to know which one deserves your attention right now.
Why do we end up with too many ideas?
Because inspiration is easier to access than ever.
You can discover a business on Instagram.
Watch someone build something on YouTube.
Ask ChatGPT how to start.
Search for suppliers.
Read an article.
Find a template.
Look at what another local brand is doing.
All of these can be helpful.
But there’s a point where research stops helping you move forward and starts giving you more things to think about.
Sometimes, you don’t need another idea.
You need to make a decision.
How I Declutter My Many Ideas
This is what I personally do when my head feels full of things I want to build.
Step 1: Write it down
I start with a pen and paper.
I write what I want in words.
Sometimes I also draw what I want to see.
It doesn’t have to look good.
It can be messy.
I might sketch a website, draw a product, write random words, list features, or simply dump everything that’s in my head onto a page.
The goal isn’t to create the plan yet.
The goal is to get the idea out of my head.
Step 2: Research or use ChatGPT as a reference
Once I have something on paper, I start exploring.
I search for similar ideas.
Does something like this already exist?
How are other people doing it?
What can I learn from them?
What am I missing?
I also use ChatGPT to help me organize my thoughts, find references, challenge an idea, or explore possibilities.
But I try not to let research replace actually building.
Research should give your idea context, not keep you stuck in research mode.
Step 3: Talk to someone
Ideas become clearer when you say them out loud.
I might talk to my spouse, a friend, or someone from my community.
Sometimes they ask a simple question that makes me realize what I actually want.
Sometimes they see a problem I didn’t notice.
Sometimes they simply tell me:
“I think you should do this.”
And sometimes, talking about an idea makes me realize that I don’t actually want to pursue it.
That’s useful too.
Step 4: Find inspiration intentionally
I also give myself space to be inspired.
That could be through:
- people who are already doing something similar
- videos
- books and articles
- websites
- conversations
- local brands
- a café or physical space
- simply being somewhere that makes me think differently
Inspiration doesn’t always come from research.
Sometimes you just need to go somewhere, look around, and let your brain connect things.
Examples
This is something I’ve experienced many times while building Baybayen.
There have been so many things I wanted to explore—websites, content, community, local brands, Baybayin, workshops, digital products, and other ideas that have come and gone over the years.
Not all of them needed to happen at the same time.
Some ideas became projects.
Some became articles.
Some became experiments.
Some stayed in my notebook.
And some ideas that I thought weren’t important at first eventually came back at the right time.
That’s why I don’t think the goal is to eliminate your ideas.
The goal is to create enough space to recognize which one you should work on next.
A simple framework
When you have too many ideas, try this:
CAPTURE → EXPLORE → DISCUSS → CHOOSE
CAPTURE
Get the ideas out of your head. Write. Draw. Sketch. Brain-dump.
EXPLORE
Research the idea. Look for existing examples, resources, possibilities, and gaps.
DISCUSS
Tell someone about it. Get another perspective.
CHOOSE
"Which one do I want to give my attention to right now?" That's an important distinction. You don't have to kill your other ideas. You just have to stop letting all of them compete for your attention at the same time.
Try this today
Grab a piece of paper and give yourself 20 minutes.
Write down everything you’ve been wanting to start.
Don’t organize it yet.
Then:
1. Circle the ideas that still excite you.
2. Put a star beside the one that feels most useful or meaningful right now.
3. Write down what you already know about it.
4. Write down what you need to find out.
5. Tell one person about it.
Then ask yourself:
“What is the smallest thing I can make or do to begin?”
Don’t build the entire thing today.
Just give the idea somewhere to go.
Your next step
Get the ideas out of your head and onto paper. Then choose one to explore—not ten to build.
You don’t need fewer ideas.
You need a way to work with the ideas you already have.
A note from Yen of Baybayen
I still have a lot of ideas.
Probably more than I can realistically build.
And I’ve learned that that’s okay.
I don’t want to become someone who stops having ideas just because I can’t do all of them.
I just want to become better at knowing which idea is worth my attention in this season.
So yes, I still grab a pen and paper.
Even when I have a phone in my hand.
Even when I can ask ChatGPT.
Even when I can search for almost anything in seconds.
Because sometimes, before I need more information, I just need a little less noise.
