Most creators think coming up with ideas is about creativity. It isn't. It's about paying attention to the right things. The pattern that comes up repeatedly when you look at how successful creators actually work versus creators who are stuck is this. Struggling creators guess. They poll their audience, chase what excites them, or assume originality is the goal. Data-driven creators research first and decide after. Three things worth doing before you make your next video: Mine your comment section before you open a notes app. Sort by newest. Look for question marks, the word "next," repeated confusion about the same thing. Your audience is telling you what they want. Most creators scroll past it. Sort a competitor's channel by most popular videos. The ones sitting way above their average views are outliers. That gap between their normal performance and that video is the algorithm telling you something works. Understand the format, not just the topic, then apply it to your niche. Keep a running list and never start from zero. The creators who describe being stuck are usually generating ideas on the day they need to film. The ones who aren't stuck made the list weeks ago and just pick from it. One thing the research kept surfacing: the videos creators were most confident in are the ones that most often flopped. High effort, personal passion, something they were certain would land. The videos that surprised them were usually the ones built around what someone else asked for. What's your current system for keeping track of ideas?