How Starting an Ideas Book Can Make All the Difference
Having Countless Options Can Be Overwhelming — But Writing Them Down Can Be a Quick Fix.

I’ve always been interested in a variety of topics.
If you were to ask me what I wanted my future job to look like when I was a teenager, I would have told you different things each week.
Some days, I wanted to go into politics to work for a better future.
The next day, I came up with the idea of starting an adoption agency. Then, I wanted to be a teacher, a physician, a scientist, a writer.
When you’re young and free, without any responsibilities and somewhat good high school grades in your pocket, it seems like anything is possible — you just have to figure out which path you want to take.
For me, the question of how I wanted to spend the rest of my life was tough.
And, I truly believe that that’s the case for most young adults.
“Our danger is not too few, but too many options … to be puzzled by innumerable alternatives.” — Richard Livingstone
I live in Germany, where the school and college system is quite different than the one in the US for example.
With a high school diploma, you can pretty much study anything you’d like.
Plus, 90% of our colleges and universities are funded by the state — meaning they only charge around 300 dollars each term.
In summary, the options you have are actually unlimited.
You can become a computer scientist, a physician, a teacher. You can study history, art, Japanese, ethics, and so on, and so on.
So, with having endless options and, in my case, endless ideas and interests, it’s quite overwhelming.
After having had countless ideas and parents who were stressing out about my decision, I started to write down all my dreams, wishes, and ideas in a small booklet that I started to carry around.
My ideas book made all the difference for me.
Six years later, I have finally decided what I wanted to do with my life and will soon end med-school.
Yet, I still carry my ideas book around and keep writing down all my thoughts and ideas — and I have benefited from it tremendously.
When I first started to write down my thoughts and potential plans, I didn’t have any system. I just scribbled everything down as it came to my mind.
Here is a typed version of what my first page looks like:
- teacher
- adopt a child
- write a book
- lecturer
- physician
- work at a pets store
- travel the world (and write about it?)
- social worker (salary?)
- learn how to play the piano
Now, as you can see there was quite a variety of jobs I could imagine myself doing.
Also, I wrote some ideas for my free time, like learning to play an instrument or travel the world.
Soon enough, I came up with some categories.
I have a page for future jobs and ideas that I could potentially monetize. Here I write down everything from working in pharmaceuticals to becoming a full-time scientist to writing a book.
Then, I have some short and longterm ideas for my free time.
Sometimes, I write down things that I used to enjoy but currently don’t find any time for, so that I am reminded of what I haven’t done in a long time.
Today, I wrote down “Stand-Up-Paddling”, just because I saw someone doing SUP on Instagram and I really want to try it one day.
There is also a category where I allow myself to dream big.
The adoption is still on that list and some other, pretty private and big dreams of mine.
My little ideas book has helped me in several ways.
I became more aware of what I wanted my future to look like. Some ideas that seemed too big in the back of my mind already became more realistic just by writing them down.
Every time I feel the need to change something in my life or to add a new tone to my free time, I just check my ideas book and am inspired to try something new.
Also, the endless possibilities of life and of my future were narrowed down automatically.
Of course, I still have diverse interests and millions of things I wish to do in my life.
Yet, I found some clusters in my ideas.
All of my potential career paths that I scribbled down as a teenager had one thing in common: I always wanted to work with people, I always wanted to help and make a difference and never have I ever thought about getting a job behind a desk.
My ideas book has helped me to understand myself and my dreams better. It has given me an insight and an overview of my biggest hopes and dreams.
It has made all the difference for me.
I carry it around in my backpack, I take it with me on vacations, sometimes I write down ideas before going to bed and wake up next to it the next morning.
It’s more than just a notebook.
It’s a diary of a special kind. It’s a bucket list. It’s a bullet journal.
It’s my treasure and I wouldn’t want to miss it.