Help for Idea Factories!
transcript
Hi! My name is Sherri Wilson! And I have a confession to make. I’ve been lazy. Yep. Lazy. I’ve been repurposing old content for my podcasts. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially when many didn’t even know I existed back when I first started it and might not have listened to my older stuff. But you deserve the best I got! So this one is a brand new podcast.
I think part of the reason I was reusing old content too much was writer’s block! And, so, as I sat here tempted to pull another old podcast transcript, I thought about a conversation I had last night while mentoring one of my clients that I think will help those of you that are what I call “idea factories” to organize your ideas and help you manage distractions…you know…those rabbit trails you find yourself on before you realize it.
Idea Factories
What exactly is an idea factory? An idea factory is a person whose head is always swimming with ideas. Idea factories love learning and researching, which often leads to learning and researching even more ideas and topics from the initial idea research leading to never fulling developing and executing the idea! To an idea factory, ideas are like shiny new objects that tend to be replaced by the next shiny new idea.
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
the problem
I am an idea factory. I love ideas! One of my favorite things to do is mastermind with others just to generate ideas and think outside the box. Unfortunately, all those ideas swimming around in my head stressed me! It felt like flies buzzing around. I needed a way to organize my ideas. I also needed a way to research and to execute the ideas that seemed viable without getting distracted. And, most importantly, the method to do these things had to work for me. I know that if they created more stress or took too much time, I just wouldn’t do them.
method 1: notes!
The best thing I did was I started using my Notes app to brain dump all of my ideas. At first, I had tried journals and writing them down but then I ended up with all these journals and even pieces of paper everywhere. Then when I’d want to go back to an idea, I had no idea where it was! I can search using keywords in Notes and pull up that beautiful idea fast!
Here’s what I do.
Create a note and title it based on the idea or area of business. For example, I conduct monthly lunch and learns at my local Chamber. I have a note titled “Lunch and Learn Ideas.” I have another titled Podcast Ideas. I have ideas for my clients, too. I title them using their name or business name. You can also create folders, which I do to keep track of not just ideas but other important things I need to remember. For example, I have a True Crime folder for my true crime podcast. Inside it, I have episode ideas, website ideas, how I want my intro and outro to sound, Instagram pic ideas, and more.
As you go about your day and get an idea (no matter how small or big), put that idea in the correct note or folder.
I then occasionally go through my ideas in my notes to see which ones I still really like and those that sounded good at the time, but don’t now. I delete those.
“Wealth flows from energy and ideas.”
method 2: online organization
Every idea needs to be researched no matter what it is. Most of us start with Google. But for us idea factories, initial research can branch into a ton of rabbit trails of other things that catch our eye. If we’re not careful, we’ll end up researching for hours but not on the original idea that we picked because it was viable and would help us reach our goals.
What I do is I create a Bookmark or Favorites folder of that rabbit trail or idea. I then bookmark all the pages I want to visit later in there and return to my initial research. This has helped me so much! I don’t have to keep hundreds of tabs open. And I see my bookmark folder every day because I set my browser to open that instead of a home page. I also arrange those folders based on priority with the top “to-do now” folders at the top of my favorites.
method 3: time block
Time-blocking is probably the glue that holds everything together. I literally schedule time in my calendar for researching, developing, and executing ideas. Time blocking is where you schedule a minimum of 20 minutes to four hours to devote to one task. No emails. No texts. No social media. Phone is either put up or on silent. I do this for everything, including dreaming, goal setting, researching, idea generation, development, personal time, etc. Pretty much anything I’m doing is done in blocks.
But another great time blocking method is to assign projects to quarters. For example, the last quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 was devoted to developing my new online course, “Build Your Brand Like A Boss.” I’m so glad I stayed focused but COVID hit and business owners needed my course!
Blocking quarters means I don’t start any major projects until that project is complete. Of course, I’ll have related projects or client projects that will need to be done. But no big projects are allowed! For example, after my course was done, I then devoted a quarter to revamping my website and honing my brand even more, which has resulted in a lot more business. I then devoted the next quarter to developing my true crime podcast. That is almost done. My next quarter project will be designing planners that are going to be the most unique of any out there. I don’t want to give away my secrets.
summary
The greatness of idea factories is our innovating spirit, which is key to keeping a business relevant and long-lasting. The weakness of idea factories is never executing all of those great ideas. By using these techniques, you can harness your greatness and manage your weakness!