How to organize your content ideas

Ideas come to you constantly.

A customer asks a great question in a meeting. You think "I should write about that." Then the meeting ends, you move to the next thing, and the idea evaporates.

You're scrolling LinkedIn and see someone's take on your industry. You have a reaction. "That's not quite right…" But you don't write it down. By evening, it's gone.

You have a conversation with a prospect and they share a story about a problem they're facing. You think "this would make a great post." But you don't capture it. A week later, you can barely remember the details.

The ideas are there. They're just disappearing before you can use them.

And when you finally sit down to create content, you're starting from zero instead of pulling from the dozens of ideas you've already had.

That's what makes the blank screen so painful. You're not actually out of ideas, you just don't have access to them anymore.

A simple system to capture ideas the moment they come to you, then organize them so you can find them when you need them.

Not a complicated productivity system. Just three steps that work.

Step 1: Have one central place for all ideas

Stop using multiple apps, notebooks, sticky notes, and random docs. You need one place where everything goes.

It could be your phone's Notes app. A Google Doc. Notion. Evernote. Whatever you'll actually use consistently.

The key is singular and accessible. One place. Always available. No friction to open it and write something down.

There is no perfect tool. There's only the tool you'll actually open and use in the moment an idea hits.

Step 2: Capture ideas immediately, not later

Ideally, you shouldn’t wait until you "have time to write it properly." You won't have time later, and even if you do, the idea will be fuzzy.

Capture it the moment it comes to you.

Even just a few words: "Customer asked about pricing transparency." "Story about how X implemented in 3 weeks." "Why most companies get onboarding wrong."

Raw capture. And also if you can, add a bit of context to the idea.

This may feel messy at first. That's fine. Messy capture is better than no capture. You're not trying to write the post yet. You're just preserving the idea before it disappears.

Step 3: Organize by content type, not by date

Once you have a list of captured ideas, organize them by what kind of post they'd become.

Your categories might look like this:

Or you might use different categories based on how you create content. The specific labels don't matter as much as having clear buckets.

This organization makes it easy to find the right idea when you need it. If you're sitting down to write an education post, you scan your education category. If you need a story, you go to your story category.

You're not scrolling through a chronological list trying to remember what that idea from three weeks ago was about. You're going straight to the type of content you need.

There's no one right way to organize. Here are three methods. Pick whichever feels simplest to you.

Method 1: The simple list

This is for people who like minimal systems.

Create one running document with headers for each content type. Drop ideas under the relevant header as they come.

It might look like this:

Education Posts

Story Posts

Engagement Posts

When you need to write, scan the category you need and pick an idea.

Method 2: The folder system

This is for people who like more structure.

Create folders or sections for each content type. Each idea gets its own note with a bit more detail.

You might add a sentence or two about what the post would cover. Or write down the customer's name who asked the question. Or note why the idea matters.

This takes slightly more time upfront but gives you more context when you come back to write.

Method 3: The weekly review

This works with either method above.

Once a week, review everything you captured. Star or highlight the ideas that feel strongest. Delete anything that no longer feels relevant.

I think this step is what keeps the system useful. Ideas age. Contexts change. What felt relevant three months ago might not matter now.

A quick weekly review keeps your list clean and current so you're always looking at ideas that still matter.

Once you have a system, here's how to actually use it.

For batching content:

When you sit down to write three posts for the week, open your organized list. Pick one education idea, one story idea, one engagement idea.

You're now choosing from a menu of ideas you've already validated as worth capturing.

For responding to moments:

Something happens in your industry. A news story breaks. A competitor launches something. A debate starts on LinkedIn.

Check your "Industry observations" category. You probably already captured a take on this topic weeks ago. Now you just need to write it.

For filling gaps:

You notice you haven't posted education content in a while. Or you've been heavy on stories and light on engagement.

Go to the category you need. Pick the strongest idea. Write it.

Your organized system tells you what type of content you need and gives you options to choose from.

I think there are three mistakes that kill most organization systems.

Mistake 1: Making the system too complicated

You don't need tags, sub-categories, color coding, elaborate databases, or project management tools.

You need to capture ideas, organize them by type, and review occasionally. That's it.

Complexity kills usage. The simpler your system, the more likely you are to actually use it.

Mistake 2: Trying to fully write ideas when capturing

Just get the core thought down. Don't try to draft the whole post in your capture moment.

Capture is fast: "Customer asked why implementation takes so long."

Writing is slow: sitting down and turning that into a 300-word post with structure and examples.

If you try to write while capturing, you'll slow down and stop capturing. I would keep them separate.

Mistake 3: Never reviewing or cleaning the list

Ideas age. Contexts change. What felt relevant three months ago might not matter today.

If you never review your list, it becomes cluttered with outdated ideas. Then when you open it to find something to write about, you have to sift through stuff that no longer matters.

A weekly or monthly review keeps it useful. Delete the stale ideas. Promote the strong ones. Keep it current.