This isn't so much about where I get my ideas as it is about what I do with my ideas. Having spent some time with Rolf Smith and Durwin Sharp not too long ago in Houston, I recently picked up a trick from their playbook.

In my left side pocket -- shirt pocket if I'm wearing a collared shirt, pants otherwise -- I carry blank slips of light blue paper. I bought a ream of paper and had the copy shop chop it into eight pieces per sheet. When I think of something -- an idea, something do do, a reference or citation I want to follow up on -- I write it down on a slip of that blank blue paper. Then I put the note in my right side pocket.

At the end of the day, I go through the slips, determine whether they're actually actionable -- and prioritize them. An FC Now entry I'll add later today was first documented on one of those slips of paper. It's low-tech, but efficient and effective as a simple ideas management practice.