A Time for Ideas
A Time for Ideas
(Altered from "A Time for Everything", a poem from the Bible – New International Version, Ecclesiastes:3)
I altered this poem so that the words apply to ideas regardless of religious or spiritual beliefs. Simply the source of the poem represents a specific belief.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every [idea]:
A time to scatter idea details and a time to gather them,
A time to embrace new ideas and a time to refrain from adding more,
A time to search for ways to make your ideas work, and a time to give up and move on to a different idea,
A time to keep moving and persevere, and a time to throw away further efforts along your chosen path and find a new one,
A time to tear down and analyze, and a time to mend or reconstruct your strategy,
A time to be silent until you've protected your idea, and a time to speak up and share your idea with a community of collaborators.
While there's a time for everything, when you have ideas to implement and find you "have no time" to work on them, MAKE TIME. Easier said than done? Not if implementing your idea is a priority for you. Here are three ways to "make more time" so you can be in action with your ideas.
1. Identify your "time takers". Take a pad of note sheets with sticky backs, or 3"x5" index cards, and write down everything that occupies your time in a given day (or week, or overall). Also write down the ideas you want to implement. Note one item per note sheet or index card. Spread your notes/cards out on a table.
2. Prioritize everything. Integrate your ideas with your current commitments by prioritizing everything. Physically rearrange the notes/cards on your table so that your highest-priority items are farthest to the left (if your language is a left-to-right-reading language; vice-versa if the reverse) and those of lower priority in your life descend to the right.
3. Set an intention to focus and act on your top five…now. Make sure that at least one of your ideas is in your top five priorities for "now". When you set an intention you set your mind and make a commitment to yourself to do, be, or feel what you intend to do, be, or feel. Check out my "January Mindset: 'New Year, New You' is Bulls**t!" webinar for an in-depth exploration of setting intentions. (Become an Idea Success Community member to access the webinar complimentary.)
Plan your days, weeks, and so on with the tasks and actions that move you forward with your top five. Repeat this process at regular intervals so that you continue to focus and act on your ever-changing top five.