Writing, creating content, finding new ideas (or better ideas) – these types of things require thought that can be really hard to produce on a daily basis. But, you gotta bring home the bacon somehow, right? So we wanted to share this little thinking theory to help you find better breaking points in your creativity, especially for those who live in team-of-one bubbles.
What is the Infinite Monkey Theorem?
This actually has mathematic origins. It goes like this: A monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text. The monkey would almost surely type every possible finite text an infinite number of times. “Almost surely” is a mathematical term meaning the event happens with probability 1.
The theory has been altered a little bit to be “a million monkeys on a million keyboards.”
So What?
Imposter Syndrome, that’s what.
When marketers and creators aren’t distracted by negative forces, they make their best work. The million monkeys are your key to tuning everything out, laying down work, and picking out the best parts of it to refine.
Start Monkeying Around:
- Sit down at your laptop or notebook or preferred writing tool
- Close your eyes and clear your mind
- Type the first word that comes to mind. And then the next. And then the next. Type random words without worrying about sentences or any of the words before it.
- Start slow if you have to, but try to develop a rhythm so you don’t distract yourself.
- Go at it for 20-30 minutes.
- Read it back and highlight chunks that stand out to you.
- Now turn your brain back on and polish what you wrote into a fully fledged idea.
To Write with Wild Abandon has a full charming blog all about the best ways to let your creative freak flag fly. Check out the full post for more on how to put your monkeys to work.
