- Image by Hey Paul via Flickr
Sounds like a sweet sweet deal doesn’t it?
Almost too good to be true.
But don’t worry. I’m not setting you up for a late night infomercial.
I’m offering up the “Eliminating the Bright and Shiny Object Syndrome” strategy of the day.
What is it?
It’s carrying a $.50 spiral notebook with you… at ALL times.
Why?
Well, we all get hit with ideas all the time. Right? (If you don’t… then you need to cultivate that even more, but that’s a conversation for a different day.)
Although these ideas can be GREAT… they can make that “Bright and Shiny Object Syndrome” to kick in. Right?
We get hit with them and then we loose 15 minutes to two hours on research… brainstorming… dreaming… and phone calls!
Not good.
Now, let’s acknowledge that some of these ideas are BIG! Some of them might even be MILLION DOLLAR IDEAS!
But, let’s also admit that some of them might be clunkers, too.
And I’d dare to suggest that the time to make the assessment on whether the idea is the next FACEBOOK or the next flop isn’t in the midst of your initial ephiany.
You need to make that call… later.
BUT you also don’t want to loose the idea.
So… this is where the $.50 investment comes into play.
Go get a spiral notebook. Red. Green. Blue. Or Star Wars themed. Whatever you want. Then carry it with you.
Always have it at the ready, so you can write down these BIG ideas and capture them.
Then, set up a time to come back to them and review them.
It might be 15 minutes at the end the day or an hour at the end of the week.
But that little bit of downtime between epiphany and assessment can allow for some of that initial adreiline rush to subside. You’ll be able to think a bit more clearly. And you’ll be able to boundry the time more effectively.
And who knows?
Since you might have a million dollar idea on your hands… your 50 cent investment can help to make sure you won’t forget it.
So… Keep thinking BIG. Stay focused. Capture the ideas. Assess them later. Make $700,008… or more. And remember me when you’re at the top (still carrying your $.50 spiral)!
Hey and join in the convo and click on comments. Let me know how you keep track of your BIG ideas.
Mitch
PS – Check out LIFEHACKER for some great insight for handling those new ideas!
Ila Scott-Ford
Great article. I believe in the little notebooks. I’ve been generating great ideas for as longa s I can remember. I even started an Inventors journal. Great idea and a mUST HAVE if you are an inventor. It’s like a bit bigger notebook with a witnessing and date feature on the bottom of the pages. But back to the little .50 notebook… I have several. Too many, so they get scattered here, there, everywhere. So I like the advice here of getting “a” notebook. And keeping it on you. Otherwise it becomes like the “punch card” from Subway… a card here, a card there. And there’s something good on each of them, but …
July 30, 2010 at 4:06 pm