When you have one of those ideas that that stops everything your doing...you know what I mean, don't you? When you wanna pull the car over, ditch the meeting, stop the deeply personal conversation with your wife mid-sentence, abandon your schedule, leave your kid hanging on the monkey bars...
When that idea hits, politely yet quickly take a pause, make a note, sketch a pic, record a melody, jot down the set up or the punchline...DO IT! Do it with the grace and civility of a wild animal acting on instinct.
Then immediately forget about it and get back to what you were doing. Let it simmer under the surface in your subconscious like my wife's chili with pineapple and beans. Yes chili can have beans. And yes, chili is fantastic with pineapple.
Unless of course you have the time, freedom, and resources to drop everything and spend an hour or two on the idea. In that case...Eat It Up!
Don't let inspiration dissipate simply because you can't chisel away at it ASAP. Be prepared. Be responsible. Be creative on purpose and with purpose.