We can come up with some pretty great ideas for projects, businesses, jobs, and adventures we’d love to do. They can occur to us in a meeting, while cleaning the dishes, on a walk, in the shower, during our commute, and even if we lie in bed unable to sleep. Our ideas may be, at various times, plentiful or sparse. They may be good or better. They may be bold or mundane.
The real is not coming up with these ideas. It’s knowing what to do with them. How do we know which ones we will do? How to we finally get around to doing them? How do we not smother them with fear, uncertainty, or doubt? And how do we not get so overwhelmed by (and even go numb to) the number of ideas, the uncertainty of direction, and the lack of time to tackle all these ideas?
Here’s a way:
First, focus on your SweetSpot. Your SweetSpot guides you towards your best choices. The projects or adventures that now best match your SweetSpot will feel great to consider. Next, keep a running list of these good ideas. If you use the Effectiveness System, this list is your back burner list. The power of the back burner list is the sense of ease it leaves you. You know that your ideas are safely captured so you can happily work on other important things now and then work on your back burner items later (or never, should you choose).
Then, review both your SweetSpot and your back burner list weekly. By taking this time to do this refresh, you will be able to make strong choices about what you will move forward. Decide what you are committed to doing this week. Move any project (a.k.a outcome) you are not going to work on this week to your back burner list. And, if you will do even one small thing to advance a project that is now on your back burner list, move that project and that one small thing into your active task & projects lists.
Simple, ya?
In your corner,
Mike
Today’s photo credit: faith goble via photopin cc