Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Flipboard 0 I generally write my Monday blog posts first thing Sunday morning. I like to get them out of the way so that I can enjoy the rest of the day with the family, watching sports, enjoying some good food, and just relaxing in general. But when I woke up this Sunday morning, I had nothing. The well was dry. Before I took Shadow for his walk I sat and looked through the more than 200 ideas in my draft folder, and none of them struck me. Oh, some were good ideas, but they were longer, deeper posts that would take a good bit of time and research, which wasn’t what I had planned for the day. I went through the general list of topics I write about, from various platforms like Facebook or Pinterest, to something about blogging. Nothing. I then thought about something related to either small business or nonprofits. Nothing. So I gave up and figured I’d tackle it after walking Shadow. And that’s when I struck oil. Or gold. Or something. Now mind you, this walk is pretty much the same walk I take every day. There’s usually nothing new about it. But by opening my eyes and seeing things, the ideas started flowing. You see, sometimes we just need a break and need to stop thinking so narrowly about the general topic or theme of our blog. Sometimes we need something external to give us an idea. So on my walk, these are the things that sparked ideas: An old historic hotel that later became a bar, that was forced to shut down, and now stands vacant. Some chalk writing on a sidewalk. A chance meeting with some strangers who admired my dog and struck up a conversation. Campaign signs for political opponents sharing the same front yard. A parked truck with its lights still on. While on the walk I spoke these ideas into my Android so I wouldn’t forget them, and I took a few pictures that I could use to illustrate those ideas. When I got back home, I discovered I had forgotten my keys and was locked out. Boom. Gave me another idea. When I got inside, I did my usual morning perusal of email, analytics, blog posts and the like, and checked out the Sunday paper. And more ideas came my way. The things that gave me these ideas were: A year old study about social media addiction. A pingback to a page on my blog that is 3-years old. A rainbow of little international flags in my analytics, representing my overnight traffic. A brown paper bag mixed in with the Sunday newspaper ad inserts. When I teach, I tell my students and seminar attendees that it’s a sickness. And it really is. You know how some people get addicted to running or some other type of physical activity or hobby? Blogging is my addiction, and my mind has been trained to look for ideas everywhere and create them from some of the most unusual stimuli. It wasn’t always this way, but by blogging regularly and consistently, I cultivated the ability to find blog post ideas in the unlikeliest of places. Once I stopped looking for the obvious posts, the ideas started coming. I usually don’t even have to find them; they find me. Don’t limit yourself to the obvious subjects. There is no shortage of ideas for blog posts. You just have to work at it, regularly and consistently, and it will happen. Where do you go when your blog post well seems to be running dry? Twitter Tweet Facebook Share Email This article originally appeared on Inkling Media and has been republished with permission.Find out how to syndicate your content with B2C Author: Connor Brooke Connor is a Scottish financial expert, specialising in wealth management and equity investing. Based in Glasgow, Connor writes full-time for a wide selection of financial websites, whilst also providing startup consulting to small businesses. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and a Master’s degree in Investment Fund Management, Connor has … View full profile ›More by this author:ACH Crypto Price Prediction 2022 – Is it a Buy?Lucky Block Partners with Dillian Whyte ahead of Heavyweight Showdown with Tyson FuryNFT Pixel Art – The Best NFT Collections for 2022