Template · Meetings
Free brainstorming template with an idea board
Brainstorm well, alone or as a team: start from one clear question, add ideas as cards, sort them into Promising and Later, then pick the three to try and the next steps.
Ideas · Oct 5
Question: How might we …?
Who:
Ground rules
Quantity first, judge later
Build on other ideas
One idea per card
Ideas
New ideas 3
Promising 0
Later 0
Top three to try
Next steps
Free. Barside asks before it adds the template, then makes a new note from it. Needs Barside 1.50 or newer.
Nothing opened? Barside may not be installed yet. Download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
Good brainstorms separate making ideas from judging them. This template gives each step its own place, so the session stays open first and practical at the end.
Who it is for
It is for anyone who needs ideas: product teams, marketers, teachers, writers and founders. It works alone too: write the question, set a timer, and fill the board. When ideas turn into plans, move them to the product roadmap.
What is in the brainstorming template
- Question: one "How might we …?" sentence.
- Ground rules: quantity first, build on ideas, one idea per card.
- Ideas: a board with New ideas, Promising and Later.
- Top three to try and Next steps: what happens after the session.
An example
A small cafe team asks, "How might we bring in more customers on weekday mornings?" In ten minutes they write fourteen cards, from a loyalty stamp to a quiet workspace hour. They move five to Promising, then pick three: a coffee-and-pastry deal before 9:00, a study table with outlets, and a weekly tasting. Each becomes a next step with an owner.
How to use the brainstorming template
- Choose Open in Barside above. Barside opens and asks before it adds anything.
- Pick the workspace for the note, and leave Keep it in my templates ticked to use the template again.
- Choose Create note. A new note called "Ideas · Oct 5" opens, ready to fill in.
- Next time, start one from New note from a template, or let Barside make it on a schedule as a repeating note.
No Barside yet? It is free for Windows, Linux and Mac: download Barside, then choose Open in Barside again.
How to get more and better ideas
- Write ideas alone for five minutes before sharing, so quiet people are heard.
- Aim for many ideas first. Good ones often come after the obvious ones.
- Combine two cards into a new one.
- Decide how you will judge ideas before you sort them, such as impact and effort.
Make it yours
- Add a drawing for diagrams: Barside has Excalidraw drawings in notes.
- Link each chosen idea to its own note with [[.
- Turn the Promising column into a project with the project tracker template.
FAQ
Questions and answers
Can I brainstorm with the AI assistant?
Yes, if you connect your own AI account. Ask the assistant for more ideas on the question, and it adds them to the note; you sort them like any other card.
Is the brainstorming template free?
Yes. The template and Barside are both free. Barside Plus is optional and adds cloud backup and sync between computers; templates do not need it.
Does the template work offline?
Adding it needs the internet once, so Barside can fetch it from barside.space. After that, the template and every note made from it live on your computer and work offline.
Can I use it on a Mac?
Yes: Barside for Mac is out. Barside also runs on Windows and Linux. The template page works in any browser, so you can preview it anywhere.